Sindhu, Lakshya progress to Indonesia Masters quarters

Jakarta, Jan 23:  Top Indian badminton players P. V. Sindhu and Lakshya Sen advanced to the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Masters Super 500 tournament with convincing victories in their round-of-16 matches here on Thursday.

In the women’s singles, two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu overcame Denmark’s Line Hojmark Kjaerfeldt in straight games 21-19, 21-18 to book her place in the last eight. This was her fifth win over the Danish shuttler in six career meetings. Sindhu will next face top seed and world No. 4 Chen Yu Fei of China in the quarterfinals.

In the men’s singles, Lakshya Sen produced a dominant performance against Jason Gunawan of Hong Kong China, winning 21-10, 21-11 in just over 30 minutes to move into the quarterfinals. He is slated to play Panitchaphon Teeraratasakul of Thailand in his next match.

The strong showings by Sindhu and Lakshya highlight India’s continued presence in the deeper stages of elite international badminton events.