Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu continued her impressive run at the Madrid Spain Masters and advanced to the quarter-finals with a comfortable win over Huang Yu-Hsun of Chinese Taipei in Madrid on Thursday. It was a smooth performance from Sindhu as she was hardly tested by the world number one Taiwanese qualifier. 63, resulting in a 21-14 21-12 victory in 36 minutes. The former world champion, who finished second in the last edition, will face sixth-seeded Supanida Katethong from Thailand or Japan’s Natsuki Nidaira.
In the opening game, Sindhu initially led 3-0 but then entered a phase where she often found the net or went long, while her rival produced some precise returns to take a 7-6 lead before pulling off a took a one-point lead with a straight smash-down.
However, the Indian produced a better show after the restart to take an 18-12 cushion, with Yu-Hsun making mistakes. She quickly picked up eight game points, wasting two before closing the opening game with her signature smash.
After switching sides, Yu-Hsun struggled to control the shuttle as her lifts repeatedly went long. The Taiwanese shuttler tried to use her drops and placements, but she had no power in her smashes.
As a result, Sindhu quietly waited for her opponent to make mistakes. She soon had a five-point lead at the break. Every time Yu-Hsun tried to extend the rallies, she was met with unnecessary errors.
Soon a smash earned another eight match points for Sindhu and she wrapped it up when her opponent squirted into the net again.
With top seed Carolina Marin of Spain withdrawing from the tournament following her title-winning run at the All England Championships and the Swiss Open in the past fortnight, Sindhu is now the favorite to claim the crown and end a long wait.
Sindhu won her last BWF tour title at the Singapore Open Super 500 in 2022.
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