Vantaa, Oct 9:
Two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu advanced to the women’s singles quarter-finals of the Arctic Open badminton tournament with a straight-games victory over Japan’s Riko Gunji on Thursday.
The sixth-seeded Indian defeated Gunji 21-15, 21-15 in 49 minutes at the BWF Super 500 event in Finland. Sindhu will next face Thailand’s top seed and former world champion Ratchanok Intanon for a place in the semi-finals.
The opening game remained closely contested until the score reached 15-all, when Sindhu raised her intensity and won six consecutive points to take the lead. In the second game, Gunji again stayed in contention, drawing level at 13-13, but Sindhu won eight of the next 10 points to seal the match.
The quarter-final will revive a familiar rivalry between Sindhu and Intanon, who have not met since 2022. Intanon holds a 9-4 advantage in their head-to-head record and has won their last five encounters.
Sindhu enters the contest on the back of a strong season that included the Japan Open Super 750 title in July. However, India suffered setbacks in the men’s singles event, with Kidambi Srikanth and H S Prannoy among those eliminated. Tanvi Sharma also bowed out after losing to Intanon in the second round.