Korea Open: Kidambi Srikanth, PV Sindhu enter semifinals

Top Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the semifinals of the Korea Open Super 500 badminton match with contrasting wins at Suncheon on Friday.

Third seed Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, notched up her seventeenth win over acquainted foe Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-10 21-16 within the girls’s singles quarterfinals.

She will face both Japan’s Saena Kawakami or second-seeded Korean An Seyoung subsequent.

#KoreaOpen2022 @srikidambi beats Son Wanho 21-12, 18-21, 21-12 in 62 minutes to make semis. He’ll face the winner of Jonatan Christie vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Christie had crushed HS Prannoy for the Swiss crown & Kunlavut had defeated Lakshya Sen for the German Open title.

— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) April 8, 2022

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In a battle between two former world quantity ones, it was World Championships silver medallist Srikanth, who rode on his energy and precision to outwit native hope Son Wan Ho 21-12 18-21 21-12 in a males’s singles quarterfinal match that lasted simply over an hour.

Srikanth had a 4-7 document in opposition to the Korean, having misplaced to him on final three events.

However, the Indian performed higher badminton on Friday to return up trumps in opposition to an opponent, who’s coming again to worldwide badminton after a two-year hiatus.

The Indian, seeded fifth, will subsequent face the winner of the match between Thailand’s eighth seed, Kunlavut Vitidsarn and third seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia.

In girls’s singles, Sindhu had no points in disposing off Busanan, whom she had crushed at Swiss Open closing final month. The Thai lead 5-2 within the opening recreation however after that it was a Sindhu present as she stored the match underneath her tight grip.

Leading 11-7, Sindhu produced an eight-point burst to drag away from the Thai and seize the lead within the match.

Things have been comparable after the change of sides as Sindhu held a 8-2 lead and stored transferring forward because the Thai crumbled.

In males’s singles, Srikanth confirmed higher management as he dominated the brief rallies to maneuver to a cushty 11-6 lead on the first interval and although Son Wan Ho made it 12-14, the Indian quickly modified gears to stroll away with the primary recreation.

The Korean got here again strongly within the second recreation, opening up a 10-7 lead however Srikanth moved forward to 13-11. An alert Son Wan Ho didn’t let the sport slip away and shortly charged forward to take it to the decider.

Srikanth made a rollicking 4-0 begin within the decider however unforced errors allowed the Korean to make it 4-6. The Indian modified the tempo with some fast attacking returns and his precision earned him returns. Srikanth managed a 11-7 lead on the interval.

A barrage of attacking pictures stored Srikanth within the hunt as he prolonged his result in 16-10. A precision return ultimately acquired him to eight match factors and he sealed it when Son Won Ho hit the web.