PV Sindhu advances to second round at All England Championships

NEW DELHI: Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu made a strong start in the women's singles competition at the All England Championships as her German opponent, Yvonne Li, retired after the completion of the first game on Tuesday. The former world champion and current World No. 11 Sindhu secured the first game with a commanding score of 21-10, prompting the world No.26 Li to retire.
The 28-year-old badminton sensation from Hyderabad is now set to face top seed Korean An Se Young in the second round. An Se Young has proven to be Sindhu's nemesis, defeating her in all six of their previous encounters in international badminton. The last time they met was at the Asia Championships in Dubai last year, where Sindhu managed to take a game away from the world No. 1 Korean.
An Se Young, currently recovering from a right knee injury, recently secured her second title of the season at the French Open last Sunday, adding an extra layer of anticipation to the upcoming clash.

The match between Sindhu and Li initially saw a competitive battle, with the score tied at 4-4. However, Sindhu quickly pulled away to take an 11-7 lead at the break, extending her advantage without much difficulty. The game concluded with Li retiring, and Sindhu sealing victory as the German went long on the decisive point.
In men's singles, world No. 8 Prannoy suffered another setback, failing to capitalize on an early lead as he succumbed to a 21-14, 13-21, 13-21 defeat against Chinese Taipei's Su Li Yang, ranked 32nd. This marked his second consecutive first-round exit, following his loss at the French Open last week.

Meanwhile, Srikanth, amidst his race to qualify for the Paris Olympics, faced a formidable challenge against top seed and world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen, ultimately losing 9-21, 9-21. With this outcome, 2022 runner-up Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat emerged as the sole contenders in men's singles for the country.
Sen, aged 23, is set to compete against Denmark's Magnus Johannesen in his opening round on Wednesday.
Unfortunately, Aakarshi Kashyap also bowed out of the tournament after a 16-21, 11-21 defeat against Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei in the opening round.
In women's doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand are scheduled to face Indonesia's Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti later in the day, keeping the hopes alive for Indian representation in the ongoing competition.
(Inputs from PTI)