Indian shuttler P. V. Sindhu overcame early hiccups to beat Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova 23-21, 21-6 in a women’s singles Round of 64 match at the Badminton World Championships on Tuesday in Paris.
In men’s singles, H. S. Prannoy came out on top of a difficult 47-minute match against Finland’s Joakim Oldorff, winning his first-round match 21-18, 21-15. Both players were making unforced errors — sending the shuttle into the net more times than they would like — but the Indian held on to advance in the tournament.
Prannoy, however, could face second-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark, who has to face Brazil’s Jonathan Matias in his first-round fixture, in the next stage.
For Sindhu, it wasn’t the ideal start for the 30-year-old Indian as she trailed 0-4 in the first game, following a series of unforced errors as Nalbantova maintained the pressure to move ahead 9-5 before entering the interval with an 11-7 lead.
Post the break, Sindhu found her rhythm, unleashing a flurry of smashes — including her trademark cross-court winners — to level the score at 12-12. Two errors from the Bulgarian handed Sindhu a 14-12 advantage, but the lead seesawed as both players exchanged points.
FILE PHOTO: Prannoy could face second-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark, who has to face Brazil’s Jonathan Matias in his first-round fixture, in the next stage.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
FILE PHOTO: Prannoy could face second-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark, who has to face Brazil’s Jonathan Matias in his first-round fixture, in the next stage.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
At 19-20, Nalbantova had a game point but failed to capitalise, hitting into the net at 20-20. A forehand slice into the net gave Nalbantova a second game point, but she squandered that too, allowing Sindhu to grab the game point and convert it to seal the opener.
In the second game, Sindhu came out all guns blazing, racing to a 5-1 lead with aggressive returns. Though Nalbantova reduced the margin to 5-6, she became increasingly erratic, allowing Sindhu to take control.
The Indian led by six points at the interval.
It was one-way traffic thereafter as Sindhu extended her lead to 17-5 with a mix of powerful smashes and deep clears, while Nalbantova continued to make errors, including several misjudged line calls.
Sindhu earned 15 match points, squandered one, and sealed the contest with a fierce smash.
Sindhu, who has five World Championships medals to her name, will face either of Saloni Samirbhai Mehta of Hong Kong China or Karupathevan Letshanaa of Malaysia in the next round.
Later in the day, mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde will face Macau China’s Leong Iok Chong and NG Weng Chi.
(With PTI inputs)
Published on Aug 26, 2025
