French Open: PV Sindhu marches into next round with easy win

A number of Indian shuttlers were in action on Day 2 of the ongoing competition.

India’s badminton contingent is currently vying for supremacy at the ongoing YONEX French Open 2021. The tournament involves some of the best badminton players from across the globe, coming together in Paris for the event. There were several Indians in action on Day 2 of the event, including PV Sindhu.

The two-time Olympic medalist came up against Julie Dawall Jakobsen of Denmark in the women’s singles category. World No. 7 Sindhu was too good to handle for her opponent and won 21-15, 21-18 in straight games. The third-seeded Indian will now face Denmark’s Line Christophersen in the next round.

Sourabh Verma managed to win his opening game of the tournament, after overcoming Ygor Coelho of Brazil at the French Open. The close contest saw the Indian win 22-20, 21-19 in the first round. Lakshya Sen also secured a place in the next round by defeating Nhat Nguyen 21-10, 21-16 in straight games. 

A string of defeats for some players in singles bracket

Elsewhere, Saina Nehwal could not finish her contest and retired midway through her encounter against Sayaka Takahashi. The Japanese shuttler was leading 21-11, 9-2 before the Indian had to forfeit and crash out of the French Open.

Kidambi Srikanth was up against World No.1 Kento Momota. The Indian came mighty close to causing an upset, but the Japanese shuttler recorded victory by 21-18, 20-22, 21-19 in three gruelling games. Parupalli Kashyap also bowed out of the French Open after losing his match. Brice Leverdez of France emerged the winner by a 21-17, 17-21, 21-11 scoreline. 

HS Prannoy was also in action against Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei. The fourth seed was too strong for the Indian and managed to win comfortably 21-11, 21-14 to move into the next round.

A look at doubles action

In the men’s doubles category, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila managed to win their contest against Joshua Magee and Paul Reynolds of Ireland. The India duo was too strong for their opponents and won the match 21-13, 21-7 in straight games. Satwiksairaj Rankiredd and Chirag Shetty also secured a win on the day. The pair defeated Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan of Chinese Taipei by a 18-21, 21-17, 21-13 scoreline. 

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponappa opened their account with a comfortable victory in the mixed doubles category at the French Open. The pair outclassed Mathias Thyrri and Mai Surrow of Denmark in straight games. The final score read 21-19, 21-15 in the favour of the Indians.

In women’s doubles, Meghana Jakkampudi and Poorvisha S. Ram had to forfeit their encounter due to an injury. The pair was trailing by 11-4 against Alyssa Tirtosentono and Imke Van der Aar of the Netherlands. Ashwini Ponappa and N. Sikki Reddy lost their match, as they were up against heavy favourites Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan of South Korea. The duo from Korea won the contest easily by 21-16, 21-17 in straight games.

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