PV Sindhu, who had struggled to find her rhythm in the first two rounds, hit top form on Thursday. The 2019 world champion looked in complete control as she knocked out second seed Wang Zhi Yi of China in straight games and entered the women’s singles quarterfinals in the BWF World Championships in Paris. Ranked No. 15 in the world now, Sindhu registered one of her best wins in recent times to shock the two-time Asian champion 21-19, 21-15 in 48 minutes. Also making the last-eight stage was the Indian mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto. They scripted a sensational come-from-behind win against fifth seeds Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong China 19-21, 21-12, 21-15. These wins brought much joy to the Indian camp after the heart-breaking loss of HS Prannoy on Wednesday night. The Indian veteran failed to capitalise on two match points before going down against Anders Antonsen of Denmark, ranked No. 2. The 2023 World Championship bronze-medallist fought gallantly for nearly an hour and half before losing 8-21, 21-17, 21-23. The fourth day of the competition certainly belonged to Sindhu. The five-time World Championships medallist began on a high and entered the first mid-game break with a handy five-point lead (11-6). The 25-year-old Chinese bounced back and surged into a 19-17 lead. The tall Hyderabadi showed her resilience and reeled off four successive points to clinch the game at 21-19. In the second game, 30-year-old Sindhu didn’t allow the Chinese to take early lead as she enjoyed the identical scoreline of 11-6 heading to the break. Wang grabbed four straight points to make a strong recovery. Thereafter, Sindhu dominated her rival to close the game at 21-15. A marathon 57-shot rally tested Sindhu, but she regained control with decisive attacking play. Sindhu will lock horns with World No. 9 Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia on Friday. Sindhu has faced her four times and won twice. Sindhu is now just a win away from securing a record-equalling sixth World Championships medal. “When I stepped onto the court, she was like any other player to me. I knew it was not going to be easy from Round One in the World Championship. You have to fight for every point, every rally. I wanted to give my 100 per cent,” Sindhu said after the match. “Of course, Wang is a very good athlete, but that was not on my mind. I had to just be consistent and keep the shuttle in,” Sindhu said. Sindhu thus extended her remarkable record against Chinese shuttlers at the Worlds to 8-0, having previously beaten Wang Yihan (2013), Wang Shixian (2014), Li Xuerui (2015), Sun Yu (2017) and Chen Yufei (2017 and 2019) in earlier editions. “It’s just one match at a time for me. I need to come back tomorrow much stronger, and be prepared for everything,” she added. In the mixed doubles, Dhruv and Kapila regrouped with confidence after conceding the opening game. They dominated the second game and took the momentum to the decider. The big win has now set up a high-stakes quarterfinal clash against fourth seeds Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei of Malaysia. “We had a rough run a couple of months back. I think we are building together, step by step. Slowly, slowly we are getting there. Really happy with the way we played today,” Tanisha said. “We came prepared better this time. We didn’t give up at any point in the match. Even after we lost the first game, we didn’t let it get to us. We fought back even harder in the second and third,” said Tanisha.
