Sindhu Overcomes Malaysian Challenge To Reach Round Of 16 At BWF World Championships Khaleej Times

India's star shuttler PV Sindhu kept her form intact by overcoming the challenge from Malaysia's Karupathevan Letshanaa in the Round of 32 at the BWF World Championships on Wednesday.

In the men's doubles category, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat Chinese Taipei's Kuang Heng Liu and Po Han Yang 22-20, 21-13.

Sindhu, ranked 15th in the world, ousted 40th-ranked Letshanaa in straight sets with a 21-19, 21-15 in a contest that lasted for 43 minutes to seal her spot in the Round of 16.

It wasn't a smooth sailing for the two-time Olympic medallist as the Malaysian shuttler pushed Sindhu to the limit.

Sindhu struggled to find answers to the question that Letshanaa asked and trailed 14-18 towards the climax of the opening game.

With a comeback, the need of the hour, Sindhu upped the ante and blazed her way to four consecutive points, tilting the scales in her favour by bringing the scoreline level at 18-all. Despite standing on the verge of succumbing to defeat in the first game, Sindhu held her composure and raced to a 21-19 win in 22 minutes.

The second game turned out to be a complete contrast to the first one. Sindhu took an early 4-0 lead, courtesy of Letshanaa making unforced errors. Sindhu dictated the pace and extended her lead to five with the scoreline reading 7-2.

She remained firmly in control at 16-8 and eventually hammered the decisive blow to enter the next stage with a 21-15 win in the second game. Sindhu will now square off against World No. 2 and reigning China Open champion Wang Zhi Yi.

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