PV Sindhu created badminton history on Thursday (January 22) by becoming the first Indian shuttler to achieve 500 career wins in women's singles. The two-time Olympic medallist accomplished this milestone during the Indonesia Masters Super 500 tournament in Jakarta, defeating Denmark's Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt in the round of 16.
PV Sindhu's performance
PV Sindhu delivered a composed performance, winning 21-19, 21-18 in straight games. In the match Sindhu showcased her control in crucial rallies. This victory marked her fifth win in six encounters against the Dane, highlighting her dominance over the opponent.
With this victory, Sindhu has joined an elite group as only the sixth women's singles player ever to hit the 500-win mark. The exclusive club includes legends like Ratchanok Intanon, Tai Tzu Ying, Akane Yamaguchi, Carolina Marin, and Petya Nedelcheva.
Her overall career record now stands at 500 wins in singles from 732 matches, delivering an impressive win rate of about 68.3%. On the BWF Tour specifically, she boasts 456 wins against 227 losses.
Tough quarterfinal awaits against top seed
The challenge intensifies for the world No. 13 Sindhu in the quarterfinals. She will face the top seed and world No. 4 Chen Yu Fei of China, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist. This matchup promises high drama as Sindhu aims to build on her momentum and push deeper in the tournament.
Lakshya Sen registers a dominating win
In the men's singles, India's Lakshya Sen continued his strong form. The seventh seed crushed Hong Kong's Jason Gunawan 21-10, 21-11 in just 33 minutes. Fresh from reaching the quarterfinals at the recent India Open, where he was the lone Indian to do so. Lakshya showed no mercy on the court.
His next opponent is Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul of Thailand, who pulled off an upset by beating Lee Zii Jia.
Kidambi Srikanth faces stern test
Later on the day, unseeded Kidambi Srikanth took on fourth seed Chou Tien Chen in a high-stakes round of 16 encounter. The matchup was expected to be one of the toughest of the round, with Srikanth needing to bring his best to advance further.