PV Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag Open Singapore Campaign With Wins

Veteran shuttler PV Sindhu began her title defense at the Singapore Open by defeating fifth-seeded Indonesian Putri Kusuma Wardani 21-17, 21-18. After surging ahead early in game one, Sindhu faced a brief scare but leveled at 16-all before clinching five consecutive points to take the opener. The second game proved tighter, yet the Tokyo bronze medalist seized key moments to advance to the pre-quarterfinals against Japan’s Riko Gunji. In men’s doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty dropped the opening game 26-28 but bounced back emphatically, winning the next two 21-15, 21-13 against Chen Jie Yi and Presley Smith. Their reward is a round-of-16 clash with Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan. Ayush Shetty’s promising start in men’s singles ended in defeat, while several other Indian entrants also bowed out on the opening day.