PV Sindhu advances to BWF World Championships second round as Jolly-Gayatri shine

PV Sindhu opened her campaign at the BWF World Championships with a dominant win on Monday, while India’s doubles players also made solid progress in New Delhi.

PV Sindhu starts strong against Ireland’s noble

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu began her quest for a record sixth World Championships medal in emphatic style. The ninth-seeded Indian defeated Ireland’s Sophia Noble 21-7, 21-11 in just 29 minutes to book her place in the women’s singles second round.

PV Sindhu starts strong against Ireland’s noble

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu began her quest for a record sixth World Championships medal in emphatic style. The ninth-seeded Indian defeated Ireland’s Sophia Noble 21-7, 21-11 in just 29 minutes to book her place in the women’s singles second round.

Sindhu already owns five medals from the prestigious event: two bronze, two silver and the gold she claimed in 2019. A semi-final finish this week would guarantee her at least a bronze and make her the first player in World Championships history to collect six medals. Only China’s Lin Dan (five men’s singles titles) and Zhao Yunlei (three mixed doubles and two women’s doubles titles) have previously reached five.

From the opening points, Sindhu controlled the match. She used her experience and patient rallies to force errors from her opponent, racing to an 11-2 lead at the mid-game interval before closing out the first game comfortably. Noble raised her level in the second game and stayed close for a while, but Sindhu regained control after the break. Clever drop shots and powerful smashes gave her little trouble, and a soft backhand net drop sealed the victory.

Sindhu will next face Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang, who advanced with a 21-7, 21-19 win over Bulgaria’s Stefani Stoeva.

Jolly-Gayatri and other Indian pairs progress

Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also enjoyed a straightforward first-round win. The Indian pair defeated Spain’s Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez 21-9, 21-13 in women’s doubles. They will meet 16th seeds Lauren Lam and Allison Quynh Lee of the United States in the next round.

In men’s doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun moved into the second round when their Irish opponents Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds retired while trailing 21-16, 6-4. The Indians will face 15th seeds Min Hyuk Kang and Dong Ju Ki of Korea, who received a first-round bye.

Meanwhile, India’s top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, seeded fifth, also received a bye. They will open their campaign against Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Adam Pringle.