Sindhu survives scare to advance at French Open

P V Sindhu overcame a strong challenge from Thailand's Supanida Katethong to reach the second round of the French Open Super 750 tournament in Paris. The Indian star recovered from a one-sided second-game loss to clinch a hard-fought 21-14, 8-21, 23-21 victory in 64 minutes.

Paris: India’s double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu survived a scare from Thailand’s world No. 26 Supanida Katethong to advance in the French Open Super 750 badminton tournament here on Wednesday.

The former world champion and world No. 1 battled for an hour and four minutes before prevailing 21-14, 8-21, 23-21 in a gruelling encounter.

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Sindhu started strongly, taking the opening game 21-14, but Katethong fought back in the second, dominating the rallies to level the match with a commanding 21-8 win.

The decider proved to be a tense affair, with both players fighting for every point. Sindhu eventually held her nerve in the closing stages to edge past the Thai shuttler 23-21 and seal her place in the next round.

Reflecting on the hard-fought win, Sindhu admitted it was far from her best performance but was relieved to get through.

“Some matches you just have to find a way to win. Today was one of those,” she said.

“Credit to Supanida, she made me fight for every point. I felt like I was trying to impose my game throughout, but somehow things kept slipping away. Will go through the footage and see what needs to change,” she added.

Sindhu also recalled a crucial challenge late in the decider, when a close line call went against her.

“Even that challenge at 21-20, the shuttle clipping the line by a hair’s breadth! Some days God really makes you fight for it,” she said.

“I needed this win. End of story. Not the prettiest, plenty to reflect on, but happy to be through. Recovery underway, another battle tomorrow. One match at a time,” Sindhu added.

In another women’s singles match, Unnati Hooda bowed out after losing 18-21, 21-12, 17-21 to Japan’s Riko Gunji.