Indonesia Masters 2026: PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen reach quarters; Kidambi Srikanth bows out

PV Sindhu registered her 500th singles career win.

In what came as a much-needed boost for Indian badminton, PV Sindhu stormed into the quarter-finals of Indonesia Masters 2026 on Thursday.

Lakshya Sen also advanced keeping men’s singles hope alive. However, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth’s difficult phase continued with an early exit.

Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, defeated Denmark’s Line Hojmark Kjarsfeldt in straight games—21-19, 21-18 in the Round of 16.

As the score suggests, the victory was not easily earned. Kjærsfeldt mounted a strong late comeback in the opening game, pushing Sindhu to the limit. But under pressure, the Indian star shone brighter and closed it out 21-19.

In the second game, Sindhu was back in her classic form. After conceding an early lead, she regrouped quickly, took control of the rallies, and moved ahead to 14-9, and finished the match that marked her 500th individual win in career.

This made her only the sixth women’s singles player in the world to win 500 matches and the first Indian badminton player ever to do so.

The win also saw Sindhu extending her head-to-head record against the Dane to 6-1 and secured her place in the quarter-finals. She will now face top seed and world No. 4 Chen Yu Fei of China, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist, in a highly anticipated clash on January 23.

On the other hand, in the men’s singles Lakshya Sen crushed Hong Kong China’s Jason Gunawan in straight games and book his spot in the last eight.

The Indian shuttler started with domination taking 16-6 lead in the first game and winning 21-10. The second game started with a little bit of competition when Jason managed to make it 3-3. However, soon Lakshya Sen surged ahead and never looked back sealing the game 21-11.

This time, Sen will look to heal his wounds sustained at the recently concluded India Open where he reached the quarterfinals but lost the match to Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei 21-17, 13-21, 18-21. He will now face Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul of Thailand in the quarterfinals in Jakarta.

Also Read: BWF India Open 2026: An Se Young defends women’s singles crown; Lin Chun-Yi wins men’s singles title

Meanwhile, for Kidambi Srikanth, it was another disappointing outing as he bowed out in the Round of 16 after losing to fourth seed Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei 11-21, 10-21.

Unable to find his rhythm, Srikanth struggled to match his opponent’s pace and aggression. The defeat adds to a series of setbacks, including his loss at the India Open 2026. The former world No. 1 has not won an international singles title since 2017.

Youngster Anmol Kharb’s promising run also came to an end in the women’s singles Round of 16 against former world champion Nozomi Okuhara.

The 19-year-old qualifier showed great fighting spirit in the opening game winning 21-16 before being overpowered by Okuhara’s experience who sealed the next two games 14-21, 11-21.

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