French Open Super 750 badminton: PV Sindhu qualifies for quarterfinal; Kidambi Srikanth bows out

PV Sindhu scripted yet another impressive performance in theFrench Open Super 750 tournament in Paris on Thursday as she battled  past USA’s Beiwen Zhang  to reach the quarterfinals. However, Kidambi Srikanth’s men’s singles campaign ended following a 21-19, 12-21, 20-22 defeat to Guang Zu of China. Sindhu, meanewhile, beat Zhang 13-21, 21-10, 21-14 and will face either Chen Yu Fei of China or Denmark’s Line Christophersen.

Sindhu started the proceedings with a cross-court winner but Zhang put up a defensive wall, engaging the Indian in long rallies dominated by a series of high tosses and clears.

Sindhu struggled with the conditions as, going for the backline, the Indian committed too many unforced errors to allow Zhang lead 11-7 and 14-9.

Zhang’s lifts repeatedly found the lines, while Sindhu missed time and again. Soon the American re-established a five-point lead at 16-11 before grabbing eight game points. The Chinese converted when Sindhu sprayed into net again.

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Zhang had good control over her shots as she led 3-0 with a couple of lovely drops in the second game. Sindhu managed to level things at 4-4 before pouncing on a weak return near the net to go 6-4 up.

Sindhu soon started dictating terms in the rallies to move to 9-5 with her steep returns troubling Zhang. The Indian held an 11-7 lead at the break.

It was a one-way traffic as Sindhu opened an eight-point gap with an over-the-head smash which was followed by a cross hit. The Indian moved to 11 game points with another precise return at the back and roared back into the contest when Zhang tossed one out.

Two smashes helped Zhang take a 4-2 lead in the decider but Sindhu made it 5-5 after winning a 34-shot rally. The Indian looked to play more downward shots from the windy side of the court even as Zhang suffered from inconsistency.

The Chinese’s strokes were choppy and net play erratic as Sindhu moved to 8-5 before grabbing an 11-7 advantage when Zhang miscued a shot.

With Zhang struggling with the length, Sindhu held on to the four-point lead at 17-13 with another over-the-head smash. Another drop shot gave Sindhu six match points and she sealed it when Zhang made another net error.

Srikanth vs Guang Zu

Srikanth got off the block with a 3-0 lead but he went long thrice to allow Guang Zu level the scores at 5-5. The Indian gave a few points at the net but ensured an 11-9 lead at the break.

Srikanth stood firm in the flat exchanges and played some delectable forehand returns to take a 17-14 lead but his errors pegged him back as Guang Zu levelled the scores.

A backhand kill helped the Indian move to 19-18 but the Chinese again levelled the scores at 19-19. Srikanth, however, sent a smash next before unleashing another cross court smash to take the opening game.

After the change of sides, Srikanth fell 1-3 behind and though he clawed back at 4-4, his errors piled up as Guang Zu led 11-7, which he extended to 17-10 on resumption and eventually sealed the second game to take the match to the decider.

In the third game, the duo were inseparable for the first 12 points before the Chinese moved to 10-7. Srikanth reeled off four straight points with some precise returns at the back and had a 17-13 and 18-15 lead at one stage.

But Guang Zu slowly restored parity with the Indian finding the net twice. Another shot going into the net gave a match point to Guang Zu. Srikanth saved one with a cross-court jump smash before two unforced errors put paid to his hopes.

With PTI inputs