US Open: Sindhu, Lakshya enter quarterfinals with easy wins

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Council Bluffs (USA). Star Indian shuttler P.V. Sindhu and Lakshya Sen stormed into the quarterfinals of the US Open, BWF Super 300 tournament after registering straight game wins in their round of 16 matches, here on Thursday.

Two-time Olympic medalist Sindhu registered a comfortable 21-14, 21-12 win over Chinese Taipei’s Tsung Shuo Yun in the women’s singles round of 16. Meanwhile, Lakshya beat Jan Lauda of Czech Republic 21-8, 23-21 in his men’s singles second round match.

Sindhu started slow but found her rhythm as the match progressed. The Indian star soon put Sung Shuo Yun on the backfoot to take a 13-5 lead. The Taipei shuttler put up some resistance but it was not enough as Sindhu wrapped up the first game to take the lead.

After changing sides, Sindhu and Shuo Yun went head-to-head from the start with both the shuttlers trying to gain control of the contest. As the match progressed, Shuo Yun was unable to match Sindhu’s intensity as the Indian built up a good lead and won five consecutive points to win the match in 37 minutes.

Sindhu will face Chinese shuttler Gao Fang Jie in the upcoming quarterfinals. So far, the Indian player has won only one of his last four encounters.

Earlier in the day, third seed Lakshya struck early and took the first game easily. The second game proved to be an even bigger challenge as the Indian players trailed laudaa 19-14.

The 21-year-old Indian made a comeback to level the score at 19. In the thrilling finish to the match, he kept his composure and eventually won the contest which lasted 39 minutes. In the quarterfinals, Lakshya will take on compatriot S Shankar Muthusamy Subramaniam, who beat Israel’s Misha Zilbermann 21-18, 21-23, 21-13.

(IANS)

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