Shillong: PV Sindhu crushed world No. 5 Han Yue in Tokyo on Thursday. The Indian shuttler advanced to the Japan Open Super 750 quarterfinals with a dominant 21-16, 21-14 victory. She finished the match in just 35 minutes. This result pushed her head-to-head record against the Chinese player to a lopsided 8-1.
The match started tight. Sindhu eventually found her rhythm, leaning on precise shot placement and aggression to secure the first game. She started the second game with a ferocious eight-point streak to build an 8-0 lead. The former world champion remained unfazed by a brief fightback from her opponent. Her court coverage proved too much for the fifth seed.
Sindhu now faces Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in the next round. Okuhara reached the quarterfinals after the top-seeded An Se-young of South Korea withdrew from their match. Sindhu stands as India's final hope in the tournament. Earlier, the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto lost to top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping of China 20-22, 17-21. The match lasted 47 minutes. Reflecting on her form, the two-time Olympic medallist delivered what many called a "statement performance" to keep the Indian campaign alive after the earlier exits of Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, and Unnati Hooda.
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