PV Sindhu, Michelle Li recreate unique record during R32 match at French Open 2024

Sindhu overcame the Canadian in three games after a marathon clash.

PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, advanced to the second round of the BWF French Open 2024 with a thrilling win over Canadian Michelle Li on Wednesday (March 6). Sindhu, who is making her return to the BWF World Tour after recovery from injury, defeated WR-24 Li 20-22, 22-20, 21-19 after a marathon 80-minute match.

The clash, which saw Sindhu fight back from a game down while also trailing in the second game, also witnessed the duo recreate an interesting record in the tournament history.

This was only the second time when a women’s singles match had a ‘Double Deuce’ and also a 21-19 score at the French Open in the BWF World Tour era, since the format’s inception in 2017.

The first instance dates back to the 2021 edition of the French Open, where Denmark’s Line Kjaersfeldt beat Beatriz Corrales of Spain with a nail-biting score of 20-22, 22-20, 21-19 in the Round of 32. Now, at the 2024 edition, PV Sindhu and Michelle Li replicated this remarkable feat, with the Indian winning the battle 20-22, 22-20, 21-19.

Interestingly, like Sindhu, Kjaersfeldt—a former European Games champion—had to bounce back from a game down to defeat Corrales in their round of 32 meeting.

Meanwhile, Sindhu returned to the BWF World Tour after a four-month hiatus due to a knee injury sustained in the previous year’s competition. Sindhu faced tough competition from Canadian and despite losing the opening game and trailing 6-13 in the second, she staged an impressive comeback to secure victory.

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PV Sindhu’s Upcoming Match

“I’m happy and I ended up on the winning side because it was a hard-fought match where it could’ve been anybody’s game. I had to take one point at a time and just keep it going and stay patient,” Sindhu was quoted as saying by Olympics.com.

“It’s good that we’re playing here before the Olympics and I’m sure every time it is going to be different. You never know how it is going to be, but of course, the atmosphere it’s really good inside and the crowd is fantastic,” she added.

Sindhu’s next opponent is USA’s World No.10 Beiwen Zhang, who beat former Olympic champion Carolina Marin to reach the round of 16. Like Sindhu, Zhang also recovered from a game down to defeat the Spaniard 14-21, 21-16, 21-17. The last encounter between Sindhu and Zhang was in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open last year, where Sindhu faced defeat.

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