Double Olympic medallist Indian shuttler PV Sindhu entered the round of 16 of China Open after beating sixth seed Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan 21-15, 8-21, 21-17 on Wednesday.
Sindhu made a strong start to the match, racing ahead 6-2 with good control and composure on the court. Her precise lunges and well-timed lifts helped her keep the shuttle in play effectively.
The lead grew to 10-5 and then 16-9. Although Miyazaki attempted a late comeback, Sindhu’s early dominance ensured she comfortably took the opening game 21-15.
In the second game, Miyazaki found her rhythm and, after a closely contested start, pulled ahead to take an 11-7 lead at the interval. She maintained the momentum to dominate the game 21-8, forcing a decider.
Sindhu came out firing in the third game, quickly building a 5-1 lead, capitalizing on a flurry of errors from Miyazaki. She extended her advantage to 11-2 at the final change of ends. While Miyazaki attempted to claw her way back from the far side, Sindhu held firm, pushing ahead to 17-9 before sealing the match in 62 minutes to advance to the second round.
Sindhu has had a challenging 2025 BWF World Tour season so far. Her best finish this year remains a quarter-final appearance at the India Open in January, which was followed by four first-round exits and two round of 16 finishes.
Last week, Sindhu, a former world champion, went down 15-21, 14-21 to Korea’s Sim Yu Jin in the Super 750 Japan Open, her fifth first-round exit this year.
This was Sindhu’s second meeting with the 18-year-old Miyazaki with the Japanese beating the Indian at the Swiss Open last year.
In the men’s doubles draw, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty put up a dominant performance to progress into the Round-of-16.
The pair outclassed Japan’s Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura with a convincing 21-13, 21-9 straight-game win.
Meanwhile, in women’s doubles, the Panda sisters, Rutaparna and Swetaparna, faced a tough challenge against the experienced Hong Kong China duo and concluded their campaign.
Unnati Hooda sets up Round-of-16 clash with Sindhu
India’s rising badminton star Unnati Hooda produced a stunning performance to knock out veteran Scottish shuttler Kirsty Gilmour in straight games at the China Open 2025, setting up an all-Indian Round-of-16 clash with PV Sindhu.
The 17-year-old displayed exceptional composure and skill to win 21-11, 21-16 in just 36 minutes, marking one of the biggest victories of her young career on the BWF World Tour. From the outset, Unnati looked sharp and confident, keeping the pressure on Gilmour with tight net play and well-placed smashes. Her ability to control the pace of rallies and draw errors from the experienced Scot was a highlight of the match. The teenager raced through the first game, giving Gilmour little chance to recover. The second game saw more resistance, but Unnati never lost grip on the contest and closed it out with maturity beyond her years.
With this win, Unnati not only progressed to the pre-quarterfinals of a Super 1000 event but also earned a rare chance to test herself against PV Sindhu — India’s most decorated women’s shuttler — in what promises to be a generational showdown.