Badminton Asia C’ships: PV Sindhu to renew rivalry against Akane Yamaguchi; Lakshya, Prannoy bow out | Badminton News

For the first time since July 2023, PV Sindhu and Akane Yamaguchi – two familiar foes who are part of the golden generation of women’s singles that is trying to keep the fight going – will face off each other on Thursday at the Badminton Asia Championships. It will be the 26th meeting of their decorated careers, but one that comes at a time when Sindhu is still trying to find her rhythm back on the tour.
Even world No 4 Yamaguchi, once one of the ever-present players on the tour, hasn’t been too active this year, beginning her season only at the All England last month. This is a match-up that Sindhu has enjoyed in the past, winning 14 of their 25 matches, and in the second round in Ningbo, the Indian will look to make a statement that she is still capable of pushing the top 5 on her day.
In the first-round on Wednesday, Sindhu ensured she didn’t get stretched too much Indonesia’s Ester Wardoyo as she won 21-15, 21-19. One of Sindhu’s challenges in recent times has been keeping pace with the younger lot who move quicker on court, troubling the Indian veteran with slices and drops. Sindhu, however, started at a good tempo and largely stuck to an attacking style against Wardoyo, even when the rallies went long.
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Wardoyo threatened to take the match into the decider and that would have been bad news physically for Sindhu, given the quick turnaround, but the former world champion managed to wrap it up in two games. Sindhu is the last women’s singles player standing after defeats for Aakarshi Kashyap, Malvika Bansod and Anupama Upadhyaya.
In men’s singles, Priyanshu Rajawat came back after dropping the opening game against Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen 20-22, 21-12, 21-10 while Kiran George easily overcame Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Panarin 21-16, 21-8. Both George and Rajawat will face tough tests in the next round against the finals of the 2023 World Championships. While George takes on Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Rajawat plays Japan’s Kodai Naraoka.
End of the road
However, it was the end of the road for the top two from India as both HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen bowed out. While HS Prannoy was typically gritty against China’s Lu Guang Zu, he went down 16-21, 21-12, 11-21. Lakshya’s inconsencies continue to haunt him as he lost in straight games against Lee Chia Hao 18-21, 10-21. The Chinese Taipei shuttler is in good form, having recently reached the All England final, but Lakshya’s performance in the second game left a lot to be desired as he barely put up a fight after an even contest in the opening game.
In Men’s Doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi defeated Sri Lanka’s Madhuka Dulanjana and Lahiru Weerasinghe to set up a clash against former world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.

Vinayakk Mohanarangan is Senior Assant Editor and is based in New Delhi. … Read More

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