Indian star shuttler PV Sindhu stormed into the semifinals of the Madrid Spain Masters badminton tournament on Friday. However, Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the quarterfinals of the event. Double Olympic medallist Sindhu defeated world no. 19 Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark 21-14 21-17 to reach her first semifinal of the year. Srikanth, on the other hand, suffered a loss to top-seed Kenta Nishimoto of Japan 18-21 15-21 in the men's singles quarterfinals.
After a sedate start to the match, Sindhu completely dominated the second half of the play to take the first game comfortably. Sindhu was, however, trailing for most of the second game. But she made an impressive comeback fighting from 6-12 to register a straight-game win.
Earlier the fifth-seeded Srikanth, a former world number one, showed flashes of brilliance but the inconsistency, that has plagued him all season, once again marked the end of him. It was Srikanth's third loss to the Japanese shuttler.
Since Sindhu returned after recovering from injury, she has been struggling for form during this season. She has slipped out of the top 10 in the world rankings. It is the first time in 2023 that the 27-year-old former world champion has crossed the second round. She will take on unseeded Yeo Jia Min of Singapore for a place in the final.
Earlier, Sindhu defeated Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia, and Srikanth beat compatriot B Sai Praneeth to enter the quarterfinals. Two-time Olympic medallist, Sindhu dispatched Putri Kusuma Wardani 21-16 21-14 in a little over half an hour game and entered her first quarterfinal in the year 2023. Srikanth, on the other hand, pulled off a 21-15 21-12 second-round win over B Sai Praneeth.
Also Read:
Gujarat Titans start IPL 2023 campaign on high-note, thrash Chennai Super Kings in opening match
IPL 2023: Who is CSK's debutant Rajvardhan Hangargekar? Here's all you need to know
