DOUBLE Olympic medallist PV Sindhu stormed into the women’s singles quarter-finals of the Hylo Open Super 500 badminton tournament with acommanding straight-game win, while compatriots Malvika Bansod and Isharani Baruah bowed out, here on Thursday. Second seed Sindhu defeated France’s Rosy Oktavia Pancasari 21-9, 21-6 in just 26 minutes in their women’s singles second round match. Fresh from her runner-up finish at the French Open, former world champion Sindhu dominated proceedings, winning 42 of the 57 points played and restricting her opponent to just 15. Sindhu, who had beaten Prakriti Bharath in the opening round, will face Amalie Schulzin the quarter-finals. Malvika, meanwhile,went down to Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang 11-21, 17-21 in 31 minutes.

 

The Indian struggled tomatch Zhang in the opening game and could not force adecider despite abetter showing in the second. Isharani also made an exit, losing to eighth seed Line Hojmark Kjaers feldt of Denmark 14-21, 19-21 in a39-minute contest. Isharani fought harder in the second game but the Danish shuttler held on to seal the match in straight games. The other Indians in action laterin the day include sixth seed Unnati Hooda, who faces Denmark’s Frederikke Ostergaard, while India’s topranked men’s singles player Lakshya Sentakes on compatriot Kiran George in an all-Indian clash. Anmol Kharb will meet third seed Line Christophersen of Denmark in women’s singles.