PV Sindhu enters China Masters quarterfinals with straight-game win over Pornpawee Chochuwong

PV Sindhu defeated World No. 6 Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-15, 21-15 to reach the China Masters quarterfinals. Sindhu credited alertness, shot control, and preparation under coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama for her straight-game win and is now focused on her next match.

Hyderabad: PV Sindhu advanced to the quarterfinals of the Li-Ning China Masters defeating World No. 6 Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand in the Round of 16.

The Indian ace registered a straight-games victory, winning 21-15, 21-15 in 41 minutes at the Shenzhen Arena, Shenzhen.

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Sindhu will meet the winner of the match between top seed An Se Young of Korea and Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt in the quarterfinals.

Sindhu, who had exited the recently concluded Hong Kong Open in the first round, was delighted with the straight-game victory and said she was alert from the start against her Thai opponent.

“I am happy with the win, and it was very important for me from the beginning to be alert and give my 100 percent. She (Chochuwong) is a top player. I played her in the Indonesia Open; that time, it was a hard match. After winning the first game, I was much more alert in the second game,” Sindhu said after the match.

“The points were going to be equal, so it was very important for me to stay close to her, as every point counts. I am happy that I am on the winning side, and I gave my best. I have to prepare for tomorrow now. It’s good that if you win the first game, you finish it off in the second game. Straight wins always give you that confidence. But you also have to be prepared for long matches and make sure that you are quicker on your feet,” the double Olympics medallist said.

Sindhu said the key to winning matches where there was strong air-conditioning drift is to control one’s shots.

“It’s (drift) always there, every tournament there is wind, but it is important that you have control. But sometimes it’s very hard to control,” she said.

Sindhu is currently working alongside Indian women’s singles coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama, the former men’s singles coach of the Indonesian badminton team.

Satwik-Chirag in quarters

Later, India’s premier men’s doubles combination of R. Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty also made it to the quarterfinal.
The Indian duo put up a dominant performance against Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin with a straight-games win 21-13, 21-12 in just 33 minutes.

They will next face China’s Ren Xiang Yu and Xie Haonan in the quarterfinals.