Indonesia Masters: Sindhu, Srikanth through to Round of 16

Jakarta, Jan 21 (IANS) Former world champion PV Sindhu faced a tough first-round match but ultimately secured a straight-games victory over Japan Manami Suizu in the opening round of the Indonesia Masters here on Wednesday.

Sindhu had a surprising start in the first game, trailing 2-11 at the mid-game break. She had to defend four game points but managed to win the game 22-20, scoring six consecutive points. In the second game, she led throughout but couldnt establish a comfortable lead over Suizu until she ultimately won 21-18.

The India ace will face either Denmark Line Kjaersfeldt or China Han Qian Xi in the second round.

Meanwhile, former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, who made it to the finals of the Malaysia Masters and Syed Modi International last year, faced Japan Koki Watanabe in an exciting first-round match and edged out his Japanese opponent with a 21-15, 21-23, 24-22 victory.

After a strong start with aggressive shot-making in the opening game, Srikanth game faltered in the second as he made errors, giving Watanabe a chance to catch up. In the third, he led 7-4 but made several errors and couldnt fully dominate Watanabe. Ultimately, in key moments, Srikanth aggressive strokeplay helped him secure the win, keeping Watanabe at bay.

Srikanth will next face fourth seed Chou Tien Chen in the second round.

On Tuesday, Indian shuttlers Anmol Kharb and Aakarshi Kashyap secured their spots in the women’s singles main draw with notable victories in the qualifying rounds. Aakarshi, however, was eliminated after losing three games in the women singles main draw opener, and Kiran George was defeated in straight games in his men singles opener.

The mixed doubles teams of Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto and Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Shivani Gadde both fell in the first round to French pairs.

--IANS

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