Olympics 2024: PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy begin campaign with dominant straight-game wins

When PV Sindhu walked into the Porte de La Chapelle Arena on Sunday to begin her Paris Olympics campaign, she was in no mood to stretch her stay at the court beyond two games.

HS Prannoy, playing later in the evening, too, made his Olympic debut with a straight-game win over Fabian Roth of Germany.

Sindhu, who underwent intense training in Saarbrucken, Germany before the beginning of the Paris Olympics, needed half an hour to beat World No. 111 Maldives' Fathimath Abdul Razzaq of Maldives in straight games.

When the match began the gulf in class between the two players became evident as Sindhu, chasing her third consecutive Olympic medal, commanded the game from the onset of her opening Group M match.

Sindhu did not allow Razzaq to achieve double-digit points in the two games and won the match 21-9, 21-6.

In the opening game, Razzaq fizzled out of the battle after drawing level at 4-4. With the shuttler from Maldives committing too many errors by playing her returns into the net, Sindhu claimed a seven-point lead at the mid-game interval.

Post-break, Sindhu made her imposing presence felt as she won ten straight points to go 14-4 up.

Since Razzaq was error-prone, the 30-year-old Indian player did not have to toil hard for points.

Yet, Sindhu's brilliance was on display when she deceived her opponent with a backhand flick at 19-6.

Though Razzaq put up resistance briefly winning three consecutive points, Sindhu claimed the opening game after Razzaq sent her return to the net.

The second game would see Sindhu marching to a 4-0 lead due to Razzaq's poor application of strokes.

After a dull beginning, Razzaq fought back to close the gap at 3-5, winning three straight points.

But as Sindhu forced her to engage in a faster rally, Razzaq's defence fell apart.

When Sindhu unleashed her smash from the backcourt, Razzaq's retrieval went wide, allowing the former to claim an 11-3 lead at the break.

She would eventually wrap up the contest winning the second game 21-6.

Sindhu, who won silver at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, will go head-to-head against World No. 75 Kristin Kuuba of Estonia in her second group match on Wednesday.

Prannoy breezes past Fabian Roth

Prannoy, meanwhile, fought off Germany's Fabian Roth with a straight-game (21-18, 21-14) win to begin his Paris 2024 campaign.

The first game went neck-to-neck. Prannoy, however, managed to stay up in the fight, claiming an 11-10 lead over Roth at the mid-game interval.

After the break, the German shutler went 14-11 up as the rallies got longer.

Prannoy, however, staged a comeback to draw level at 16-16 and then at 17-17.

From this stage, the 13th seed Prannoy, who recently recovered from chikungunya, upped his ante and rattled Roth with his effective use of crosscourt smashes and deft placement of the shuttle.

In the second game, Prannoy, in a display of his regained fitness and form, broke away to an 11-6 lead and eventually closed the match, forcing Roth to play wide.

Prannoy will Le Duc Phat of Vietnam in his final group clash on July 31 and look to book his place in the Round of 16.