Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty battled their way into the pre-quarterfinals but it was curtains for Lakshya Sen in the very first round of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament on Tuesday.
Sindhu overcame long-time rival Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 22-20, 21-23, 21-15 in an absorbing one-hour and 19-minute clash in the women's singles.
I have been losing in the first rounds (of late) so it was very much useful and important for me to win matches like these," said Sindhu after her match.
Sindhu faces sixth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand in the round of 16.
Sen, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, fought valiantly before falling 11-21 22-20 15-21 to world number two Shi Yu Qi of China in a gripping first-round men's singles contest that lasted 65 minutes.
Shi had entered the event as world number one but dropped a rung in fresh rankings issued on Tuesday, soon after his contest.
The 23-year-old Sen, returning from a back injury that ruled him out of last week's tournament in Malaysia, showed remarkable resilience. Trailing 11-17 in the second game, he mounted a spirited comeback, saving a match point and clinching the game 22-20 to force a decider.
However, the momentum proved short-lived as Shi grabbed control in the third game to seal the match.
HS Prannoy also bowed out from the USD 1,450,000 tournament. The 2023 World Championships bronze medallist lost 17-21, 18-21 to Indonesia's Alwi Farhan.
Later, Satwik and Chirag made it to the round of 16 after beating the Indonesian duo of Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana 18-21 21-18 21-14 in their opening-round match that lasted 67 minutes.
Sindhu vs Okuhara
Sindhu and Okuhara, both of whom former world champions, have struggled in recent times. While Sindhu's best performance this season was a quarterfinal finish at the India Open in January, Okuhara hasn't made it past the second round in six events.
The two stars added another chapter to their storied rivalry, engaging in a war of attrition in an error-marred match that had plenty of game points and match points.
"It is always good to play with her, obviously it is not easy but at the same time I would have finished it off in two sets but I should have been a little more cautious because I had two match points," Sindhu said.
The decider followed a familiar pattern of conservative play, with neither of the two taking undue risks.
Sindhu led 11-9 at the break and then unleashed a series of winners to surge to 20-12. The Indian star earned eight match points and sealed the win by converting the fifth to book her spot in the round of 16.
The win helped Sindhu improve her head-to-head to 11-9 against Okuhara, who had defeated the Indian in the 2017 World Championships.
Sindhu acknowledged that the game has changed a lot in the last few years.
"If you see now the women's circuit, it is more of like you know those long rallies, less of attack and defense have become very strong like at that point of time it was like we were attacking mostly and then you know it was all like a faster speed game," she said.
She also noticed improvement in her game but admitted that fitness is still a work in progress.
"After the India Open, it has been a bit of a struggle. It has been a rough patch the last couple of games but I can see there is a bit of improvement like the last tournament. You need to keep trying patiently so that you get that rhythm," she said.
"I am happy but I need to definitely improve a lot more and be injury free and of course focus on my skill."
Sindhu was the lone Indian woman to advance to the next round.
Malvika Bansod retired mid-way through her women's singles match against Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia. She was leading 21-16 16-15 before she slipped on the court and clutched her knee in pain before retiring.
