In a one-hour and five-minute quarter-final match, PV Sindhu defeated her Thai opponent, who was ranked sixth in the event.
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PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, came back from a game down to beat Supanida Katething of Thailand in the semi-finals of the Syed Modi International Super 300 competition in Luclnow on Friday. In a one-hour and five-minute quarter-final match, the top-seeded Indian defeated her Thai opponent, who was ranked sixth in the event, 11-21, 21-12, 21-17. In the semi-finals, Sindhu will face fifth-seeded Russian Evgeniya Kosetskaya. However, in the men’s singles, HS Prannoy was eliminated from the event after losing in straight games to Arnaud Merkle of France in the quarter-finals. In a 59-minute quarter-final match, the fifth-seeded Indian, a former top-10 player, lost 19-21 16-21 to his French opponent.
Sindhu’s opponent got off to a fast start in the match, racing to an 11-6 lead at the first mid-game intermission. Sindhu narrowed the gap to 9-13, but Supanida stepped up her game and finished the game with a score of 21-11. The top-seeded Indian then put up a remarkable fightback in the second set, taking a slim 11-10 lead into the break. Sindhu came out firing on all cylinders after the resumption, taking the second set 21-12 to force the decider.
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The sixth-seeded shuttler got off to a fantastic start in the third game, taking an 0-4 lead, but Sindhu clawed her way back to earn a one-point advantage in the final mid-game interval. After the resumption, the shuttle continued changing the racquets of both players, with the score reading 17-17 at one point. Sindhu’s excellent defence, on the other hand, saw her gain four points in a row to end the tie against the Thai player who had defeated her in New Delhi the week before. Sindhu will face Evgeniya Kosetskaya of Russia in the semi-finals. On Court 2, the fifth-seeded Kosetskaya defeated Tereza Svabikova of the Czech Republic 21-8, 21-14 in her quarterfinal match.
Mithun Manjunath, on the other hand, qualified to the semifinals after defeating Sergey Sirant of Russia 11-21 21-12 21-18 in a one-hour and one-minute quarterfinal match. In the semi-finals, Manjunath will face Merkle. In a 42-minute quarter-final encounter, the Indian combo of MR Arjun and Treesa Jolly defeated the eighth ranked French duo of William Villeger and Anne Tran 24-22 21-17 in the mixed doubles event. In the semifinals, Arjun and Jolly will play countrymen Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto, who are seeded seventh. Ramya Venkatesh Chickmenahalli and Apeksha Nayak of India lost a walkover against Anna Ching Yik Cheong and Teoh Mei Xing of Malaysia in the women’s doubles quarterfinals.
