P.V. Sindhu continued her winning streak from the Japan Open into the China Open, securing a hard-fought victory over Unnati Hooda in the opening round. Sindhu triumphed 21-14, 9-21, 21-10 in a challenging match lasting 56 minutes, avenging her loss to Hooda in the same tournament last year.
The two-time Olympic medalist will now face China’s Chen Yufei, a former Olympic champion, in the second round. Ayush Shetty also made waves by defeating Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan, advancing to the men’s singles pre-quarterfinals with a 21-17, 5-21, 21-17 victory. Shetty’s win marked a significant turnaround after his loss to Farhan in the 2023 World Junior Championships.
In doubles events, Indian pairs faced setbacks. Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde were defeated by top seeds Yan Zhe Feng and Dong Ping Huang in mixed doubles. Similarly, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto fell to China’s Xin Wa Guo and Fang Hui Chen. In men’s doubles, M.R. Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan were unable to overcome fourth seeds Wei Keng Liang and Chang Wang, concluding India’s challenge in the category.
Lakshya Sen is set to kick off his men’s singles campaign against Japan’s Yushi Tanaka later in the day.
