Three in three: India close a remarkable day 2 of BWF World C'ships with Prannoy, Sindhu wins as highlights

Paris [France], August 26 : During the ongoing Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships in Paris, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde overcame an early setback to outlast Macau's Leong Iok Chong and Weng Chi Ng in their round of 64 clash to end a great two on a high for India.

The Indian duo defeated Chong and Ng by 18-21, 21-16, 21-18. The Indian pair will now meet Malaysia's Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei in their Round of 32 encounter on Wednesday.

HS Prannoy successfully avoided the fate that Lakshya Sen endured and edged past Finland's Joakim Oldorff in the Round of 64 to storm into the next stage of the men's singles event.

Prannoy, ranked 34, faced a stern test but managed to conjure a 21-18, 21-15 victory against the 22-year-old in a contest that lasted for 47 minutes. In the opening game, the 47th-ranked Finnish shuttler raced to a 5-7 lead with his sharp movement and precise shots. The 33-year-old Indian, who was still settling in, didn't show any sign of panic. He made Oldorff chase the shuttle, bringing the score level at 8-8. Momentum began oscillating like a pendulum as Prannoy seized control. Midway through the game, Prannoy gained a 14-11 lead.

Oldorff was not willing to go down without a fight, forced a couple of errors from Prannoy and restored parity at 17-all. Prannoy regained control and clinched three consecutive points. Oldorff fought to take one point, but Prannoy delivered the decisive blow to take the first game by 21-18 in 24 minutes.

In the second game, Oldorff, trailing by 4-7, turned the tide around to make things level at 8-8. Prannoy derailed Oldorff's momentum by restoring a slender three-point advantage with the scoreline reading 11-8. Prannoy extended his buffer to four points and closed out the contest with a 21-15 win.

Meanwhile, in the women's singles event, PV Sindhu warded off a challenge from Bulgaria's Kaloyana Nalbantova with a 23-21, 21-6 scoreline in 39 minutes.

The Indian shuttler, placed 15th in world rankings, who had struggled for form this season, started off poorly against the 19-year-old and trailed by four points in the first interval. But after the restart, she scored seven points in a row to take a lead of 14-12. However, the Paris 2024 Olympian and two-time junior European champion was not to be denied, as she fought until the very end, forcing the Indian veteran to save two game points, and ultimately won the marathon opener in 23 minutes.

Sindhu, after gaining momentum, started the second game by getting four successive points. However, the Bulgarian fought back to reduce the deficit to 6-5 before Sindhu's experience helped her secure 14 successive points. Kaloyana broke the streak, however, it was too late as Sindhu had won the match by securing the next point.

Sindhu is on a hunt for her sixth medal in this global event, having won back-to-back bronze medals in 2013 and 2014, and successive silver medals in 2017 and 2018.

Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, however, will start their campaign from the second round on Wednesday, having received an opening-round bye.

In the men's doubles, ninth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will also start their campaign from tomorrow in the second round after getting a first-round bye.

India has bagged at least one medal in the Badminton World Championships since 2011.

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