Asian Games 2023 Badminton: PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth march into pre-quarters

Srikanth Kidambi to face Kodai Naraoka in the next round.

Indian badminton star PV Sindhu, currently ranked 15th in the world, demonstrated her prowess in the women's singles round of 32 at the Asian Games 2023. She secured a convincing victory with scores of 21-10 and 21-15 against Wen Chi Hsu, who is ranked 21st in the world. Wen Chi Hsu from Chinese Taipei couldn't match the intensity of the two-time Asian Games medalist PV Sindhu.

HS Prannoy, the highest-ranked Indian men's singles player at world No. 7, faced a comparatively straightforward match against Mongolia's world No. 311 Batdavaa Munkhbat. In a swift encounter, the Indian shuttler secured a victory in just 25 minutes with scores of 21-9 and 21-12.

In the round of 32, Indian men's singles badminton ace Kidambi Srikanth, currently ranked 21st in the world, clinched a decisive victory with scores of 21-16 and 21-11 against world No. 122 Yunggyu Lee. Impressively, the 30-year-old Srikanth had also won in straight games in the round of 64.

In a women's doubles round of 32 match, the world No. 17 pair consisting of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand secured a convincing victory with a score of 21-14, 21-12 against Aminath Nabeeha Abdul Razzaq and Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq, who are ranked 97th in the world. The Indian duo is now set to face the world No. 3 Republic of Korea pair, Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong, in the upcoming pre-quarter-finals.

In a separate development, Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto received a bye in the round of 32, as their opponents, Maisa Fathuhulla Ismail and Aishath Afnaan Rasheed from Maldives, retired with the score at 21-2, 12-2 in favor of the Indian pair. Ashwini and Tanisha are slated to take on either China's sixth-ranked pair, Zheng Yu and Zhang Shu Xian, or Mongolia's Kherlen Darkhanbaatar and Ganbaatar Myagmartseren in the round of 16.

Meanwhile, as the rounds continued, it marked the end of the road for world No. 49 Ashmita Chaliha in the women's singles. The 23-year-old Indian faced a formidable opponent in her round of 32 match and unfortunately, she was defeated 21-16, 21-17 by Indonesia's world No. 7, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.