Badminton
Indonesia Masters 2022: Lakshya Sen, PV Sindhu makes it to quarterfinals
Lakshya Sen played a solid match against Denmark's Rasmus Gemke and stormed into the quarterfinals while Sindhu had to dig deep against Gregoria Tungjung to seal her spot.
PV Sindhu (Source: AP)
World No. 9 Lakshya Sen remained in cruise control at the ongoing BWF Super 500 Indonesia Masters 2022 as he sailed past Denmark's Rasmus Gemke, in straight games, 21-18, 21-15 in a 54-minute tussle to enter the quarterfinals. Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu was meanwhile, made to work hard and go the distance again against Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tungjung before she could earn her quarterfinal ticket, 23-21, 20-22, 21-11 after 71-minutes.
Sen is the only Indian shuttler remaining in the fray in the men's singles and after the rousing golden victory at the Thomas Cup last month, is very keen on continuing that stellar form.
Up against Gemke, the World No. 13 from Denmark, the seventh-seeded Lakshya Sen did not have too much trouble, except in the opening set where the two played neck-to-neck, before Sen stepped on it and seized the first game, 21-18. Into the second, things were kept tense till the mid-game interval with Gemke edging out the lead at 11-10, playing intense cross-court rallies before Sen once again recovered and pushed forward to clinch the match and sail into the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Masters 2022, signing it off with his now-trademark racquet flip!
Sen will be meeting Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen, the third seed, next.
On the other hand, Sindhu had to face some pressure from the 2017 World Junior Champion, Gregoria Mariska Tungjung, as the 22-year-old came out all guns blazing against the World No. 7 shuttler, against whom she has never won in all their previous meetings. With a tense opening set, Sindhu had a slow start in the second where she was lagging at 7-1 and eventually lost the game. However, Sindhu managed to pull up her socks and wrapped up the match in three sets and has entered the quarterfinals now where she will be meeting Thai veteran Ratchanok Intanon.
In the doubles, only Ashwini Ponnappa-Sumeeth Reddy could not out best the second-seeds Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong of China for a place in the last eight and lost, 21-18, 21-13.
