Highlights, World Badminton Championships 2018 results: PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth enter last-16; HS Prannoy ousted

Lin Dan beats Sameer Verma: 21-17, 21-14
 

A convincing victory for the five-time champion in front of the home fans. The Nanjing Arena enjoyed every move and Lin entertained them with a straight-games win over Verma.

19-13! Verma has failed to make the most of his chances at the net. Too defensive against an overall package like Lin Dan.

16-10! Lin Dan extends his lead over Verma with a barrage of attacking shots from the mid-court. It’s now or never for Verma.

14-6! The crowd loves Lin Dan, and rightly so. The Chinese ace is effortlessly dictating the rallies and putting pressure on Verma.

11-3! Lin Dan has clearly dominated the second game so far as he enjoys an eight-point lead over Sameer Verma #TOTALBWFWC2018
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8-3! Lin Dan is just toying around with his opponent. He has hit a mix of defensive and attacking strokes, coupled with deft touches to thwart Verma.

5-0! 

Lin Dan hasn’t allowed Verma to get hold of the net in the early stages of the second stanza. Five straight points to begin with.

Lin Dan 1 

Sameer Verma 0 

The opening game goes in Lin Dan's favour as the five-time champ registers a 21-17 win over Sameer Verma #TOTALBWFWC2018
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16-19! Verma is slowly clawing back into the match but isn’t it too late? Lin Dan has let his opponent find angles to hit winners.

18-14! Yet again, Lin Dan is using the drift smartly to hit push clears and forehand drives. He has a four-point lead over Verma now

16-10! A six-point lead for the five-time world champion. Verma has lost focus after the mid-game break. The Chinese has been successful in targetting Verma’s forehand corner.

13-9! Verma is finding it difficult to judge the drift inside the arena. Lin Dan is enjoying hitting against the wind.

11-7! Home favourite Lin Dan takes a three-point lead over Sameer Verma at the break of the opening game #TOTALBWFWC2018
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9-7! Lin Dan has stretched Verma on the backcourt. The 34-year-old has targetted all four corners of the court.

6-5! Lin Dan’s defensive shot hits the net and Verma has taken a slender lead over the Chinese ace in the opening game.

4-4! Verma is not to be underestimated here. He’s been trading blows against a steady Lin Dan.

Next up, India’s Sameer Verma faces a stiff challenge from five-time champion Lin Dan of China. Lin has defeated Verma once but he could be tested by the young Indian shuttler.

Indian men’s doubles pair of B Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri go down fighting 22-24, 21-13, 21-16 against Takuto Inoue and Yuki Kaneko of Japan. Tough luck, boys!

Meanwhile, India's @saiprneeth92 beats Luis Enrique of Spain 21-18, 21-11 to book a place in the last-16 #TOTALBWFWC2018
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PV Sindhu enters last-16

Third seed Sindhu thwarts Fitriani Fitriani of Indonesia 21-14, 21-9 in 35 minutes to enter the next round. It was her explosive attack which allowed the lanky Indian to dominate both the games. On the other hand, the 19-year-old shuttler stuttered after making a good start in both the games.

18-7! It’s one-way traffic at the moment as Sindhu is running away with the lead. She’s reassured that she is one of the best attacking shuttlers on the circuit.

11-5! Sindhu with a six-point lead at the mid-game break of the second game

Fitriani is looking a bit tired after making a strong start in both the games #TOTALBWFWC2018
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8-3! Sindhu finds an acute angle to hit a drop shot. Fitriani looks jaded after starting strongly in both the games.

5-3! Fitriani gifts two consecutive points to Sindhu as her push clears land wide of the backcourt.

2-2! A similar start to the second stanza as both players look to settle after the change of ends.

PV Sindhu takes 1-0 lead

The Indian shuttler dictates the tempo of the game against a defensive-looking Fitriani to register a 21-14 win. Sindhu produced a variety of strokes from both front and back of the court to find balance.

18-10! An eight-point lead for Sindhu as the 23-year-old continues to trouble the Indonesian shuttler in the opening game.

Meanwhile, on the adjacent court, India’s B Sai Praneeth wins the opening game 21-18 against Luis Enrique of Spain.

16-7! Sindhu’s reach is extraordinary. She has covered both the tramlines without any problems, while Fitriani has been rushing at the net.

14-7! Fitriani is struggling to control her pushes from the backcourt. She needs to be accurate from the back to trouble Sindhu.

11-6! Sindhu has a five-point advantage over Fitriani at the mid-game interval

The lanky Indian shuttler has been dominant in the early stages of the opening game #TOTALBWFWC2018
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9-5! The lanky Indian shuttler has used her height to her advantage. She has pushed Fitriani towards the backcourt to find an angle for quick wristy strokes.

5-4! Perfect placement by Sindhu there. Fitriani was caught on the tramline as she mishits her net shot.

2-2! Good start by both the shuttlers. Sindhu can produce steep drop shots, while Fitriani is more of a rally player.

Three-time World Championship medallist PV Sindhu takes on Indonesia’s Fitriani Fitriani. These two have met on four occasions in the past, where the Indian shuttler has been dominant with four victories. 

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Ygor Coelho upsets HS Prannoy: 8-21, 21-16, 21-15

The unseeded Brazilian shuttler sends the attacking Indian packing after a well-deserved win in three games. This is an upset. A big one!

HS Prannoy and women’s doubles pair Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy are in action now 

Prannoy’s match has entered the third game as he trails 12-12 against Ygor Coelho of Brazil. 

Meanwhile, Ashwini and Sikki are struggling against Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota. They trail 7-14 in the opening game.

Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen beat Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty: 21-18, 15-21, 21-16

It was a strong show by the young Indian pair but the Danes had the last laugh. Astrup and Rasmussen were a bit better on the net and that made the difference.

17-11! The Danes have set each other up nicely to pile up pressure on Satwik and Chirag. Astrup’s timing and angles have been accurate.

15-10! A healthy five-point lead for Astrup and Rasmussen in the deciding game. They’ve been mixing their shots wisely.

11-6! Astrup and Rasmussen have dominated the decider so far

Will Satwik and Chirag make a comeback to seal victory? #TOTALBWFWC2018
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9-6! Astrup and Rasmussen are finding angles to hit winners. The rallies have been longer than usual.

5-5! 

The decider is bringing the best out of both the pairs. 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, and now this.

Satwik and Chirag take the second game 21-15

That was an improved attacking display from the young Indian duo as the Danes struggled to defend

Time for the deciding game! #TOTALBWFWC2018
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Satwik and Chirag take the second game 21-15

That was an improved attacking display from the young Indian duo as the Danes struggled to defend

Time for the deciding game! #TOTALBWFWC2018
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19-15! Satwik has been hitting the shuttle with so much power that it’s impossible for the Danes to defend. Two more points and the match enters the decider.

13-16! Both the pairs have covered the court with ease post the mid-game break. Both Satwik and Astrup are so quick at the net.

13-8! Astrup makes a rare error at the net as his high flick hits the frame. The Danish pair seems to have taken their foot off the gas.

The Indians take the lead! 

11-5! Satwik and Chirag look sharper in the second stanza as they take a six-point lead over the Danes at the mid-game break #TOTALBWFWC2018
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7-5! The Danes are slowly clawing back into the game. Satwik and Chirag must prolong the rallies to dictate the pace of the game.

4-1! Great start for Satwik and Chirag in the second game. They’ve been aggressive in their approach and have managed to unsettle the Danes early on.

Astrup-Rasmussen win first game: 21-18

The Danes take the opening game against Sawtik and Chirag, who made a late comeback to draw level at 18-18. However, they succumbed to pressure in the dying stages of the game.

18-18! 

And we’re back to square one. Satwik and Chirag have closed the gap on Astrup and Rasmussen’s lead. They look sharper than ever now.

15-17! There have been some great net exchanges but Chirag has mishit a few shots from the forecourt. The Danes have targeted the backcourt.

12-14! Satwik and Chirag are doing their best to close the gap but the Danes have successfully maintained their lead in the opening game. The Indian duo looks more confident after the interval.

9-11! Three points on the trot for the Indian duo 

Satwik and Chirag combine brilliantly to close the gap on the Danish pair’s lead. Chirag switched positions and Astrup was caught napping at the net

11-6! The Danes have a five-point lead over Satwik and Chirag at the mid-game interval of the opening game #TOTALBWFWC2018
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9-5! Some miscommunication there between Satwik and Chirag as they hesitate at the baseline. They trail by four points as we approach the mid-game interval.

8-2! A six-point lead for the Danes now. Both Satwik and Chirag need to attack more to unsettle the aggressive Astrup and Rasmussen.

4-2! The Danish duo opens up a two-point lead over Satwik and Chirag with some explosive smashes. They are finishing the attacks, while the Indian shuttlers are struggling to defend

Time for some men’s doubles action: 

India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty take on eighth seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen of Denmark in the R32. 

Can the young Indian boys handle the pressure?

Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi enters the last-16 with a 21-17, 21-10 win over Fabienne Deprez of Germany. Yamaguchi was slow to react at the net but eventually got into the groove in the second stanza.

Reigning world champion @ViktorAxelsen beats Huang Yuxian of China 21-17, 21-8 to enter Round of 16 #TOTALBWFWC2018
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Two-time world champion Chen Long registers a straight-games victory over Phetpradab Khosit in 50 minutes. It was a rather slow start for Chen, who was tested in the first few net exchanges. Khosit tried to attack from the net but the Chinese shutter did enough to create openings for winners. With that win, Chen enters the last-16.

Japan’s in-form Kento Momota thwarts Austria’s Luka Wraber 21-8, 21-10. The Japanese looks in brilliant touch since returning to the international circuit. He is here to make his mark again.

Defending champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan eases past Canada’s Rachel Honderich 21-11, 21-9 to enter the Round of 16.

Home favourite Chen Yufei beats Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia 21-17, 22-20 to enter the next round. The Chinese ace struggled in the second game but mixed her shots smartly to wrap up the match in straight games.

Kidambi Srikanth labours into the third  round

What a game that was? The fortune swung both ways for quite some time, even till the mid-game interval of the decider, but then Srikanth switched gears and dictated the entire proceedings. Srikanth won the match 21-15, 12-21, 21-14

14-12! Is this the time for Srikanth to change gears?

Five out of the next six points for Srikanth there. Two brilliant straight smashes off the bat of the Indian ace has put him in good stead, for now. The aggression of the Spaniard is rubbing off on Srikanth who is giving guttural cries of his own now

11-9! Srikanth in trouble

The pumped-up Pablo Abian is clearly proving to be quite a handful for the Indian ace. The expressive Spaniard goes into the mid-game interval of the decider with a 2-point advantage over an extremely sketchy Srikanth

On Court 2, Kidambi Srikanth is in a fierce battle with Spaniard Pablo Abian. While Srikanth sailed through the first game to win 21-15, he struggled in the second that saw Abian hardly breaking a sweat while winning 21-12.

Indians in action

7.30 am – Kidambi Srikanth vs Pablo Abian 

11.30 am (approximately) – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty vs Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen

12.30 pm (approximately) – Ashwini Ponnappa/Sikki Reddy vs Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota

1.20 pm (approximately) – HS Prannoy vs Ygor Coelho

1.50 pm (approximately) – PV Sindhu vs Fitriani Fitriani 

3 pm (approximately) – Sai Praneeth vs Luis Enrique Penalver

3 pm (approximately) – Manu Attri/Sumeeth Reddy vs Takuto Inoue/Yuki Kaneko

3.10 pm (approximately) – Sameer Verma vs Lin Dan

Hello and welcome to Firstpost’s coverage of Day 3’s action of the BWF World Badminton Championships at Nanjing, China