Star Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth scored contrasting wins in their respective matches on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Malaysia Masters.
Two-time Olympic medalist Sindhu, who had a tough outing in the first round, was in superb touch against Aya Ohori of Japan and stormed to a 21-16, 21-11 win in just 40 minutes.
Sindhu, 27, will face China's Yi Man Zhang in the quarterfinals.
MORE: How to watch India v Belgium in FIH Pro League
In men's singles, Prannoy scripted another come-from-behind victory. Having stunned World No 6 Tien Chen Chou 16-21, 21-14, 21-13 in the opening round of the Super 500 event, Prannoy dug deep get the better of Shi Feng Li. He defeated reigning All England champion Li 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 in one hour and 10 minutes to book his berth in the last-eight stage.
The Indian will next take on Japan's Kenta Nishimoto, who has claimed victories in 2022 Japan Open and Spain Masters this year.
Srikanth also advanced to the last eight after finally scoring a win over eighth seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand.
Vitidsarn had a 3-0 head-to-head record against the Indian before the match on Thursday. Srikanth overcame that historical edge, and a 0-5 and 1-8 deficit in the opening game to beat the Thai 21-19, 21-19 in 45 minutes.
MORE: Latest IPL 2023 betting and odds
“I didn’t really start well in both games so I’m just happy I finished it off,” Srikanth said. “The last few tournaments I wasn’t able to do that. I gave away leads and when that happens, it’s always tough to catch up. Today was about being there and not giving out easy points.”
Srikanth will face Indonesian qualifier Christian Adinata in the quarterfinal.
However, it was curtains for youngster Lakshya Sen, who is yet to hit the highs in 2023. The Indian, who had a breakout 2022 season, lost 14-21, 19-21 to world No 14 Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong.
How to watch Malaysia Masters 2023?
The matches will be streamed LIVE on BWF’s official Youtube Channel BWF TV.
