BWF World Championships: PV Sindhu into R16 after 4 years, Satwik-Chirag begin with win

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu stormed into the pre-quarterfinals of the Badminton World Championships in Paris on Wednesday, 27 August. Sindhu, seeded 15th, defeated World No. 40 Karupathevan Letshanaa of Malaysia 21-19, 21-15 in 43 minutes at the Adidas Arena.

With the victory, Sindhu reached the third round of the World Championships for the first time since her quarter-final finish in 2021. The 2019 champion has suffered second-round exits in both 2022 and 2023.

Sindhu faces a stern test in the next round, where she will meet World No. 2 and reigning China Open champion Wang Zhi Yi. The Indian last defeated Wang in 2022 but has



lost their two most recent encounters.

Meanwhile, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty eased into the Round of 16 in mixed doubles, fending off a tricky threat from Liu Kuang Heng and Yang Po Han 22-20, 21-13. The ninth seeds, who received a bye in the opening round, will take on sixth seeds Liang Wei Kang and Wang Chang of China in the pre-quarterfinals.

Earlier on Wednesday, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto entered the pre-quarterfinals of mixed doubles with a straight-game win over Ireland’s Joshua Magee and Moya Ryan. Seeded 16th, Dhruv and Tanisha dominated the proceedings to outclass the Irish duo 21-11, 21-16 in just 35 minutes.