Paris Olympics 2024: PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy cruise into Round of 16

Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy are making their Olympic debut at Paris Olympics 2024.

HS Prannoy joined Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu in the Paris Olympics 2024 badminton singles round of 16 after beating his Vietnamese opponent Duc Phat Le in three games on Wednesday (July 31). Prannoy topped Group L and will now face compatriot Lakshya, who topped Group L, in the round of 16 match. Meanwhile, Sindhu, who qualified from Group M, will face China’s He Bing Jiao in her last 16 match.

PV Sindhu defeated Kristin Kuuba of Estonia 21-5, 21-10 to top her group and qualify for the last 16. The former world champion came into the match after a thumping win over Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq of the Maldives (21-9, 21-6) and looked confident.

Sindhu, living up to her expectations, finished the game in just 33 minutes without breaking a sweat. She started the opening game with eight consecutive points and led 11-2 at the mid-game interval. Then, after the interval, she wrapped up the first game in just 14 minutes.

The second game was a little close at the start as compared to the opening game. However, Sindhu still found no difficulty in winning the second game. At the mid-game interval, Sindhu was ahead 11-6 and then wrapped the game 21-10.

🏸 Sindhu Smashes Through! 🇮🇳PV Sindhu dominates Estonia's Kristin Kuuba 21-5, 21-10 in Olympic group stage. Double Olympic medalist secures pre-quarters berth with ease#Paris2024 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/QYuB5vUv9j

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) July 31, 2024

PV Sindhu will now face He Bingjiao in a rematch of the Tokyo bronze medal clash, where Sindhu won in straight games.

ALSO READ: Paris Olympics 2024: India schedule for today Day 6 (August 1)

Elsewhere, Lakshya Sen registered one of the biggest wins of his career, defeating Jonatan Christie 21-18, 21-12 to reach the Round of 16. Lakshya, who started the match as the underdog, outplayed the No. #3 seed Christie, especially in the second game.

Lakshya Sen had lost the last four meetings against Christie in three games. So, there was a lot of pressure on Sen to deliver. The Indian shuttler started the match slowly, but soon shifted gears to lead 9-8 at the mid-game interval.

🇮🇳 India's Lakshya Sen is into the Round of 1️⃣6️⃣‼️The Indian shuttler 🏸 defeated No. 3️⃣ seed 🇮🇩 Indonesia's Jonatan Christie in the final match of Group L ✨#Paris2024 #Paris #OlympicGames #Olympic2024 #OlympicGamesParis2024 pic.twitter.com/ttUdhgqcZh

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) July 31, 2024

Sen then increased the lead to three points and was 14-11 up. Christie however didn’t give up without a fight, as he pressurized Lakshya with long rallies and soon took the lead at 18-16. Lakshya Sen then won the next five points and took the opening game 21-18.

In the second game, the Indian shutter started from the good side and as expected he was performing better, as he led 11-6 at the interval. Sen played some great rallies in the second game too and his defence was top-notch. he won the game 21-12 and the rally at 19-12 was the highlight.

Prannoy, meanwhile, also won his last group stage match to make it a 100 percent win rate for Indian badminton. The 32-year-old World Championships bronze medallist, who recovered from Chikengunia two weeks back, defeated Le Duc Phat 16-21, 21-11, 21-12 to book the clash against his compatriot Lakshya Sen.

HSP started the opening game in a slow pace and wasn’t looking comfortable with restrictions in his moment. He showed some good signs in the second half but was too late as he lost the opening game 16-21

However, HS Prannoy made a great comeback in the second game and takes the game in a dominant fashion especially the 2nd half which was so brilliant. In the decider HS Prannoy struggled a bit but then finally found his rhythm and won the third match with ease.

He will face Lakshya Sen on 2nd August 2024 in the R16.

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