Syed Modi International: PV Sindhu advances to round of 16

Lucknow, Jan 19: Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu advanced to the second round of the 2022 Syed Modi International in the women's singles at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, here on Wednesday.

The two-time Olympic medallist defeated 18-year-old shuttler Tanya Hemanth 21-9, 21-9 in a one-sided 27 minute clash.

The match started evenly with both players tied 5-5 at the opening stages. However, Sindhu snatched the momentum with nine consecutive points and then pocketed the game in 14 minutes. She continued to dominate Hemanth and sealed the contest in straight games.

Former world champion Sindhu will next face USA's Lauren Lam in the round of 16.

Meanwhile, Thailand's Supanida Katethong, who defeated Sindhu in the India Open semis, beat India's Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli 21-13, 21-13 in 31 minutes. Both Sindhu and Katethong are pitted in the same half of the draw and are expected to clash in the quarter-finals.

In another contest of the day, fifth seed Evgeniya Kosetskaya from the Badminton Federation of Russia defeated Vaidehi Choudhari 21-16, 21-10 in a 28 minute clash.

Earlier, HS Prannoy, Aakarshi Kashyap and the pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila were some of the top Indian players to have progressed to the second round on Tuesday.

The finals will be played on January 23.