Daijiworld Media Network - Jakarta
Jakarta, Jan 23: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu created history on Thursday by becoming the first Indian badminton player to register 500 career wins in women’s singles. The landmark achievement came at the Indonesia Masters Super 500 tournament, where she defeated Denmark’s Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt in the round of 16.
Sindhu put up a composed display to secure a straight-games victory, winning 21-19, 21-18. She showed excellent control in crucial rallies, particularly in the closing stages of both games. The win marked her fifth victory in six meetings against Kjaersfeldt, underlining her dominance over the Dane.
With this feat, Sindhu has joined an elite club, becoming only the sixth women’s singles shuttler in the world to reach the 500-win milestone. The list includes some of the sport’s biggest names such as Ratchanok Intanon, Tai Tzu Ying, Akane Yamaguchi, Carolina Marin and Petya Nedelcheva.
Sindhu’s overall career record now stands at 500 wins from 732 singles matches, translating into an impressive win percentage of around 68.3 per cent. On the BWF Tour alone, she has recorded 456 wins against 227 losses.
The challenge is set to intensify for the world No. 13 Indian in the quarterfinals, where she will face top seed and world No. 4 Chen Yu Fei of China. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist is expected to pose a stern test as Sindhu looks to carry her momentum deeper into the tournament.
In men’s singles, India’s Lakshya Sen continued his fine run with a dominant performance. The seventh seed crushed Hong Kong’s Jason Gunawan 21-10, 21-11 in just 33 minutes. Fresh from being the only Indian to reach the quarterfinals at the India Open, Lakshya once again looked in complete control.
He will next take on Thailand’s Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul, who caused a major upset by defeating Lee Zii Jia.
Meanwhile, unseeded Kidambi Srikanth was slated to face fourth seed Chou Tien Chen later in the day in a high-stakes round of 16 clash, expected to be one of the toughest encounters of the round.