Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu secured her spot in the Quarterfinals of the ongoing Malaysia Open with a comprehensive 19-21, 21-9, 21-14 win over Thailand's Phittayaporn Chaiwan. Meanwhile, HS Prannoy also pulled off a big upset when he defeated World No. 4 Chinese Taipei player Chou Tien Chen 21-15, 21-17 in straight games to qualify for the quarterfinals.
The duo, who are leading India’s charge at the World Tour Super 750 event, will now face tough opponents in their respective last-8 encounters on Friday, July 1. Prannoy is scheduled to face off against Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie, while Sindhu will be taking on her bitter rival Tai Tzu Ying for a place in the semifinals.
Sindhu, after a slow start, took an attacking approach to make sure that her 21-year-old opponent was unable to oust the Tokyo Olympics Bronze medallist.
However, Parupalli Kashyap was at par with Thai sensation Kunlavut Vitidsarn, but ultimately lost 21-19, 21-10. In the doubles category, the men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have given a walk over to the home pair of Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin. The reason for the same is not yet known.
Earlier in the tournament, another stalwart in Saina Nehwal went down fighting against American Iris Wang, ranked 33rd in the world, 11-21 17-21 in 37 minutes.
