Asian Games 2023: PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy make quarters; Srikanth bows out

PV Sindhu is just one win away from clinching her third consecutive Asiad medal.

Indian badminton star PV Sindhu delivered a strong performance, securing a 21-16, 21-16 victory against Indonesian shuttler Putri Kusuma Wardani in the women's singles Round of 16 at the Asian Games 2023. PV Sindhu, who had previously won a silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games, is on course to pursue the gold as she advances to the quarter-finals.

The World No. 3 ranked duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty triumphed in a closely contested men's doubles Round of 16 match at Hangzhou 2023. They secured a 24-22, 16-21, 21-12 victory against the 11th-ranked pair of Leo Rollycarnando and Daniel Marthin.

After a tight first game and conceding the second, Satwik and Chirag displayed more aggressive badminton to claim the third game, winning by nine points. They are now set to face Singapore's Nge Joo Jie and Prajogo Johann, who are world No. 106, in the quarter-finals.

The mixed doubles pair of Sai Pratheek and Tanisha Crasto faced a tough challenge and was defeated with scores of 21-18, 21-8 by the World No. 9 Malaysian duo of Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei in the Round of 16 at the Asian Games 2023.

This concluded Sai Pratheek's Hangzhou campaign, while Tanisha Crasto alongside Ashwini Ponnappa in women's doubles pre-quarterfinals faced a tough challenge and were defeated with scores of 21-13, 23-21 by the World No. 6 Chinese pair of Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu. This marks the end of the Asian Games 2023 campaign for the Indian duo across categories.

In the women's doubles Round of 16, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also experienced a close contest, with the Korean pair of Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong emerging victorious with scores of 21-15, 18-21, 21-13. This marked the end of their campaign at the 19th Asian Games.

In the men's singles Round of 16, HS Prannoy also displayed his prowess, defeating Kazakhstan's Dmitriy Panarin with a score of 21-12, 21-13. This equals the 31-year-old Indian shuttler's best performance at the continental meet, matching his previous quarter-final appearance in 2018.

Former World No. 1, Kidambi Srikanth, faced a formidable opponent in the badminton men's singles Round of 16 at the Asian Games 2023. He was defeated with scores of 21-16 and 21-17 by Japan's Kodai Naraoka, who is currently ranked third in the world. Notably, Kidambi Srikanth, also experienced a similar fate in the same round at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.