Badminton World C'ships: P V Sindhu upsets second seed Wang Yihan

[caption id=“attachment_1020791” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of P V SIndhu. AFP[/caption] India’s P V Sindhu has beaten the second seed and world number 5 Wang Yihan of China 21-18, 23-21 at the of the Badminton World Championships in Guangzhou. She now enters the quarter-finals along with compatriots P Kashyap and Saina Nehwal – one win away from an assured medal. The first game was tight but Sindhu, who had the early lead, didn’t put a foot wrong. The second game was even closer but Sindhu finally closed it out on her third match-point. The Indian, who is the 10th seed, was up 20-18 but Yihan came back to level the scores. But Sindhu refused to back down. Yihan even went ahead 21-20 but then Sindhu took three points to close out the match. She will run into China’s Shixian Wang, the seventh seed, next. Big win India’s P Kashyap also beat world no 6 Yun Hu 21-13, 21-16 in the third round. The match lasted just 37 minutes as the Indian, who is ranked 13th, overpowered his higher ranked opponent with smashes – he had 17 smash winners to just 4 by his opponent. Kashyap was completely in charge and that was illustrated by him taking 8 points in a row at one stage. Kashyap won 42 out of the 71 points played during the match. If Kashyap wins one more match, he will be assured of a bronze medal. Kashyap runs into China’s Pengyu Du, the third seed, in the next round. Saina wins Earlier, Saina Nehwal came through a tougher than expected match against Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, beating the 15th seed 18-21, 21-16, 21-14 to enter the quarterfinals. [caption id=“attachment_1020577” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Kashyap was in superb touch. Getty Images[/caption] Saina made a slow start to the match – looking pretty passive in the first game as Porntip used her height to good effect. The Thai’s smashes down the line caught Saina out of position many times and she took the game 21-18. But in the second game, Saina became more aggressive. She started taking the initiative with half-smashes and drop shots. The Indian, who is the third seed, ran away to a 16-5 lead but then took her foot off the acclerator and allowed Porntip back into the game. But her big early lead proved to be a bit too much as the Indian won 21-16. The third game was played in much the same vein. Saina was in trouble early but as the latter two games showed, she had plenty in reserve. Her net play was pretty impressive as well. Saina will now face Yeon Ju Bae, the 13th seed. Stats from the match here.