Beijing [China], April 10 : Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu scripted a stunning comeback to register a victory against Malaysia's Goh Jin Wei in a hard-fought first-round match of the Badminton Asia Championships on Wednesday.
Sindhu defeated World No. 33 Goh 18-21, 21-14, 21-19, finishing the 64-minute fixture after converting her fifth match point.
The 28-year-old Sindhu faced some nerve-racking moments during the match, even giving up a five-point lead against the world No. 33 in the final, but she maintained her composure to win the first Indian match of the day.
Sindhu was desperate to win the second game and establish her dominance after losing the first to force a decider. The Indian quickened the tempo of the match, surprising the Goh with smashes off her racquet.
In the third game, Sindhu struggled once more and fell behind before the change of ends. But before Goh could mount a late charge to threaten her, she battled back to take a commanding lead and clinch the match.
In the Round of 16, Sindhu will now take on local talent Han Yue.
HS Prannoy defeated his nemesis Lu Guang Zu 17-21, 23-21, 23-21 to reach the Round of 16 in a thriller.
Prannoy made a terrific comeback from 5-11 down in the decider to clinch the game and the three-game match.
Meanwhile, big Indian names in the men's singles category, Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen, crashed out. Lakshya suffered a defeat against top seed Shi Yu Qi 19-21, 15-21 while Srikanth, on the other hand, fell prey to Indonesia's Anthony Ginting Sisuka 14-21, 13-21.
On the other hand, China's Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning dashed Indian women's doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand's hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Indian duo surrendered 2-21, 11-21 in just 38 minutes of the match.
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