Korea Open 2022: Third-seed PV Sindhu storms into quarter-finals, Kidambi Srikanth defeats Misha Zilberman

The third-seed PV Sindhu on Thursday stormed into the quarter-finals of the Korea Open Badminton Championships 2022 after defeating Japan's Aya Ohori at the Palma Stadium.

The two-time Olympic medallist Indian defeated world No. 26 Aya Ohori from Japan 21-15, 21-10 in the second round of her women's singles event. PV Sindhu took 37 minutes to notch up her 12th win in as many games against Ohori.

PRE QUARTERS - RESULTS

Shuttlers in Quarterfinals:
: @Pvsindhu1 - WS
: @srikidambi - MS
: @satwiksairaj & @Shettychirag04 - MD
: @P9Ashwini & @sikkireddy - WD#KoreaOpen2022#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/VoHZt0ClKZ

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) April 7, 2022

Sindhu will now be up against Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the quarter-finals.PV Sindhu who is seventh in the badminton world rankings began the match, not on a great note but kept her nose ahead with an 11-9 lead at the first break. The Indian shuttler then shifted the gears to pocket the first game with ease.

Sindhu was trailing 8-4 in the second game but won four points on the trot to level the score and then went up 11-9 at the second break. The Indian then dramatically changed the momentum after the resumption by winning 10 straight points to seal the match and sailed into the quarter-finals of the BWF Super 500 event.

Later, the former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth defeated Misha Zilberman of Israel by 21-18, 21-6. The world championship silver medallist Indian had to work hard in the first game but eventually managed to win 21-18.

However, the Indian shifted gears in the second game, cruising to a massive 12-0 lead before Misha Zilberman could open his account. Srikanth shrugged off the challenge effortlessly to wrap up the match in 33 minutes.

pic.twitter.com/wZembO6wZ5

— BWF (@bwfmedia) April 7, 2022

Earlier, Malvika Bansod lost in women's singles while the mixed doubles pair of B.Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa also faced ouster in the second round on Thursday.

World No.65 Malvika Bansod of India was no match for World No.10 and sixth seed Thai opponent Pornpawee Chochuwong losing 8-21 14-21 in a match that lasted for 39 minutes.

Right from the opening game, Chochuwong dominated the proceedings by taking an early lead. In the second game, Malvika Bansod was neck-to-neck at 3-3 but the sixth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong won seven consecutive points to race to a 10-3 lead and ultimately win the game 21-14.

In mixed doubles, B.Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa lost a hard-fought three-game battle to China's Xuan Yi Ou and Ya Qiong Huang.

The Indian pair started off brilliantly taking a 5-0 lead in the opening game. Going into the break Sumeeth Reddy-Ashwini Ponnappa led 11-7. But the Chinese pair came from behind to take a 19-18 lead and ultimately won the game 22-20.

In the second game too the Indian pair took an early lead of 4-1. The Chinese pair won four consecutive points to make it 5-4. In a seesaw battle, Reddy-Ponnappa won six consecutive points to take a 10-5 lead. Despite trailing the Chinese players managed to claw their way back into the game to make it 16-16. The Indians held their nerves better to win the second game 21-18 taking the match to the decider.

In the third and final game B. Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa looked completely out of sorts as the Chinese pair of Xuan Yi Ou and Ya Qiong Huang took a 10-2 lead. The Indian pair tried to fight back but it turned out to be too little too late for them as they lost the third and final game 14-21.B.Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa lost their second-round match 20-22 21-18 14-21.