All England Open: Sindhu cruises into next round, Praneeth crashes out

The Indian contingent had another day of mixed emotions in the tournament

World No.7 P.V. Sindhu secured a commanding victory against her opponent Line Christophersen of Denmark in the All England Open Badminton Championship 2021. However, in Men’s Singles category, her compatriots Prannoy H.S and Sai Praneeth lost their respective matches and bowed out of the tournament.

The reigning world champion was at her best on the day as she played some wonderful strokes around the court. She decimated her Danish opponent in straight games 21-8, 21-8. The one-sided match lasted only 25 minutes.

The 25-year-old barely broke a sweat against the World No. 45, dominating the proceedings from start to finish. After a rocky start to the current year, Sindhu looks to have finally regained her form and fitness.  

However, her next assignment will be the toughest in the tournament yet. Sindhu is up against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the quarter-finals, who is the third seed in the championship. 

On the other hand, Sai Praneeth was defeated by second seeded Viktor Axelsen by a score of 21-15 12-21 12-21. The Indian managed to win the first by 21-15 but could not manage to keep up with the World No.2.

Despite his best efforts, Praneeth was outplayed by an in-form opponent. Axelsen comfortably won the remaining second and third by a score of 21-12, 21-12 respectively and marched on to the next round. 

H.S Prannoy had his hands full as he came up against World No.1 shuttler Kento Momota, who had eliminated Parupalli Kashyap in the previous round. The Japanese secured an easy victory in straight games with a score of 21-15, 21-14.

Lakshya Sen, however, secured a victory over Thomas Rouxel of France in the second round. The World No. 28 triumphed over a lower-ranked opponent in straight games 21-17, 21-18 in a match that lasted 53 minutes. He will face Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. 

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