Paris, Aug 28: Two-time Olympic medallist P. V. Sindhu stunned world number 2 Wang Zhiyi of China to reach the quarterfinals of the World Championships on Thursday.
The 15th-ranked Sindhu, who claimed the world title in Basel in 2019, took 48 minutes to secure a 21-19, 21-15 victory in the pre-quarterfinals, improving her head-to-head record against Wang to 3-2.
The 30-year-old Indian will next face world number 9 Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in the quarterfinals. A win would see Sindhu secure a record-equalling sixth World Championships medal. Sindhu had lost to Wardani in straight games at the Sudirman Cup earlier this year but had defeated her in the 2022 Asian Games round two.
A five-time World Championships medallist, Sindhu started strongly, racing to an 11-6 lead in the first game with a series of sharp smashes and net winners. Wang fought back to level at 19-19, but Sindhu held her nerve to clinch the game. In the second game, Sindhu again established an 11-6 lead at the mid-game interval. A thrilling 57-shot rally briefly tested her, but she regained control with decisive attacking play to close out the match.
With this win, Sindhu extended her impressive record against Chinese shuttlers at the Worlds, having previously defeated Wang Yihan (2013), Wang Shixian (2014), Li Xuerui (2015), Sun Yu (2017), and Chen Yufei (2017 and 2019).
Another Upset: India’s Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also pulled off a major upset by defeating Hong Kong’s world number 5 pair, Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet, 19-21, 21-12, 21-15, in a 63-minute thriller to reach the quarterfinals.
The Indian duo had earlier cruised past Ireland’s Joshua Magee and Moya Ryan 21-11, 21-16 in 35 minutes. Coming from a game down, they toppled the reigning Asian champions with a determined fightback.
Tanisha reflected on the win: “We had a rough patch a couple of months back. Step by step, we are building together. Really happy with our performance today. We came prepared and never gave up, even after losing the first set. Fighting hard in the second and third sets made the difference.”
Earlier in the year, the pair had mixed results, exiting early at the Malaysia Open and India Open before reaching the semifinals of the German Open. They also faced early exits at the Orleans Masters and All England Championships.
Dhruv commented on their turnaround: “The start of the year was tough with two tournaments not going well. There were no technical issues—we just focused on supporting each other and staying mentally strong. Previously, losing the first game affected us, but today we stayed composed throughout.”
