Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag enter 2nd round; Sen, Prannoy bow out of Indonesia Open

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty battled their way into the pre-quarterfinals but it was curtains for Lakshya Sen in the very first round of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament here on Tuesday.
Sindhu overcame long-time rival Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 22-20, 21-23, 21-15 in an absorbing one-hour and 19-minute clash in the women’s singles.
“I have been losing in the first rounds (of late) so it was very much useful and important for me to win matches like these,” said Sindhu after her match.
Sindhu faces sixth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand in the round of 16.
Sen, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, fought valiantly before falling 11-21 22-20 15-21 to world number two Shi Yu Qi of China in a gripping first-round men’s singles contest that lasted 65 minutes.
Shi had entered the event as world number one but dropped a rung in fresh rankings issued on Tuesday, soon after his contest.
The 23-year-old Sen, returning from a back injury that ruled him out of last week’s tournament in Malaysia, showed remarkable resilience. Trailing 11-17 in the second game, he mounted a spirited comeback, saving a match point and clinching the game 22-20 to force a decider.
However, the momentum proved short-lived as Shi grabbed control in the third game to seal the match.
HS Prannoy also bowed out from the USD 1,450,000 tournament. The 2023 World Championships bronze medallist lost 17-21, 18-21 to Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan.
Later, Satwik and Chirag made it to the round of 16 after beating the Indonesian duo of Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana 18-21 21-18 21-14 in their opening-round match that lasted 67 minutes.