Sindhu stuns world No 2; Dhruv-Tanisha, Satwik-Chirag make it a perfect day for India
Men's doubles and mixed-doubles teams make it a perfect day for India.
Men's doubles and mixed-doubles teams make it a perfect day for India.
Men's doubles and mixed-doubles teams make it a perfect day for India.
Two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu shocked world number 2 Wang Zhi Yi of China to storm into the quarterfinals of the World Championships here on Thursday.
There was a triple delight for India when India's top doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty came from behind to beat China's Liang Wei Kang and Wang Chang, and the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also made it to the quarterfinals.
The 15th-ranked Sindhu, who won the world title in Basel in 2019, took 48 minutes to prevail 21-19, 21-15 in the pre-quarterfinals.
A five-time World Championships medallist, Sindhu made a bright start in the opening game, racing to an 11-6 lead at the mid-game interval with a flurry of sharp smashes and net winners.
Wang fought back to level at 19-19, but the Indian held her nerves to pocket the game.
In the second game, Sindhu kept up the pressure, once again opening up an 11-6 cushion at the break.
A stunning 57-shot rally briefly tested her, but she regained control with decisive attacking play, closing out the match.
Sindhu will now face world number nine Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in the quarterfinals as the 30-year-old Indian is now just one victory away from securing a record-equalling sixth World Championships medal.
In the men's doubles, Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated the Chinese pair for the first time after four successive losses. They came from a game behind to beat Wei Kang and Wang Chang 19-21, 21-15, 21-17.
Making it a perfect day for India, the mixed-doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto pulled off a big upset by stunning the Hong Kong world number 5 pairing of Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet 19-21, 21-12, 21-15 in a 63-minute battle to storm into the quarterfinals.
The Indians, who had earlier cruised past Ireland's Joshua Magee and Moya Ryan 21-11, 21-16 in 35 minutes, came from a game down to topple the reigning Asian champions with a determined fightback.