PV Sindhu beats world No. 5 Han Yue to enter Japan Open quarterfinals
Two-time Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu delivered one of her finest performances of the season, defeating world No. 5 Han Yue of China in straight games to advance to the quarterfinals of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Tokyo on Thursday.
The world No. 10 Indian needed just 35 minutes to secure a commanding 21-16, 21-14 victory over the higher-ranked Chinese shuttler in their second-round match.
After a slow start, the unseeded Sindhu found her rhythm midway through the first game, striking the shuttle cleanly and dictating the rallies to take the lead.
The former world champion then dominated the second game, racing to an 8-0 advantage before comfortably sealing the contest.
With this win, Sindhu improved her head-to-head record against Han to 8-1.
The 31-year-old Indian next faces familiar rival Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, who received a walkover after top seed An Se-young of South Korea withdrew from their second-round match.
Sindhu is now India's lone survivor in the tournament after the mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila bowed out in the pre-quarterfinals. The Indian duo fought hard before losing 20-22, 17-21 to top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping of China in their round-of-16 clash in 47 minutes.
