Sindhu begins bid for record sixth Worlds medal; Jolly-Gayatri progress

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu began her pursuit of a record sixth BWF World Championships medal in commanding fashion, sweeping past Ireland’s Sophia Noble in straight games in the women’s singles opening round on Monday. The ninth-seeded Indian needed just 29 minutes to complete a 21-7, 21-11 victory, barely allowing her opponent an opportunity to settle into the contest. Sindhu, one of India’s most decorated badminton players, has already collected five medals at the World Championships — two bronze, two silver and the historic gold she won in 2019. A place in the semifinals at the ongoing edition would guarantee Sindhu at least a bronze medal and make her the first player in World Championships history to collect six medals.

China’s Lin Dan and Zhao Yunlei are the only other players to have won five medals at the tournament. Lin claimed five men’s singles gold medals, while Zhao accumulated three mixed doubles and two women’s doubles titles.

Sindhu dominates

Sindhu asserted herself almost immediately against the less-experienced Noble, using her superior court coverage and measured shot selection to control the rallies. The Indian repeatedly forced errors from her opponent and surged into an 11-2 advantage at the interval in the opening game. Noble struggled to cope with Sindhu’s ability to vary the pace, and the former world champion comfortably closed out the game 21-7. Noble produced a stronger response in the second game and stayed close to Sindhu during the opening exchanges.

Sindhu, however, gradually regained control and entered the mid-game interval with an 11-8 advantage. There was little resistance thereafter. Sindhu began dictating the rallies with greater authority, mixing sharp smashes with well-disguised drop shots to pull away from the Irish shuttler. She eventually sealed the contest 21-11 with a deft backhand drop at the net.

Zhang up next

Sindhu will face Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang in the second round. Zhang secured her place in the next stage with a 21-7, 21-19 victory over Bulgaria’s Stefani Stoeva. For Sindhu, the convincing opening-round performance provides an encouraging start to a tournament in which she has enjoyed extraordinary success over the years.

The Indian won her first World Championships medal with a bronze in 2013 and followed it with another bronze in 2014. She later claimed successive silver medals in 2017 and 2018 before finally becoming world champion in 2019.

Another podium finish this time would put her alone at the top of the tournament’s all-time medal list.

Treesa-Gayatri advance

India also enjoyed success in the women’s doubles, where Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand comfortably negotiated their opening-round assignment. The Indian pair defeated Spain’s Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez 21-9, 21-13 to progress without much difficulty. Treesa and Gayatri controlled proceedings from the outset and never allowed their Spanish opponents to seriously threaten them. The Indian combination will next take on 16th seeds Laurem Lam and Allison Quynh Lee of the United States.

Men’s pair through

Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun also progressed in the men’s doubles after their opponents Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds were forced to retire. The Indian pair had won the opening game 21-16 and were leading 6-4 in the second when their opponents withdrew.

Hariharan and Arjun will next face Korean 15th seeds Min Hyuk Kang and Dong Ju Ki, who received a bye in the opening round. Meanwhile, India’s leading men’s doubles combination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will begin their campaign directly in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. The fifth-seeded Indian pair will take on Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Adam Pringle for a place in the next stage.