BENGALURU: India stars Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu marched into the semifinals of the India Open with an impressive victory over HS Prannoy and Ashmita Chaliha respectively in the men’s and women’s singles on Friday. Likewise, India’s men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have also secured their last four berths.
Sen lost the first game against Prannoy but came back strongly in the next two to win the quarterfinal contest 14-21, 21-9, 21-14. Sen will now meet NG Tze Yong of Malaysia. Also World champion Loh Kean Yew defeated Russia’s Sergey Sirant 21-16, 21-13 to reach the semifinals.
In the two other all-Indian clashes, Sindhu defeated Chaliha 21-7, 21-18 while Aakarshi Kashyap overcame the challenge of Malvika Bansod 21-12, 21-15 in the women’s singles category. When it mattered most, especially in the second game as the scores were tied at 15-15, Sindhu’s experience shone through. She will now face Supanida Katethong.