Paris, Aug 29: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu shocked world number 2 Wang Zhi Yi of China to storm into the quarter-final of the World Championships, here on Thursday.The 15th ranked Sindhu, who won the world title in Basel in 2019, took 48 minutes to prevail 21-19 21-15 in the pre-quarterfinal to lead head-to-head record against the Chinese 3-2.
The 30-year-old Indian will now face world number nine Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in the quarter-final as the Indian is now just one victory away from securing a record-equalling sixth World Championships medal.
The Indonesian had beaten Sindhu in straight games at the Sudirman Cup earlier this year, though the Indian had prevailed in their Asian Games round-two clash in 2022.
Elsewhere, India’s Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also pulled off a big upset by stunning Hong Kong world number 5 pairing of Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet 19-21 21-12 21-15 in a 63-minute battle to storm into the quarter-final.
The Indians, who had earlier cruised past Ireland’s Joshua Magee and Moya Ryan 21-11 21-16 in 35 minutes, came from a game down to topple the reigning Asian champions with a determined fightback.