P V Sindhu enters quarterfinals at Tokyo Olympics
Tokyo, Jul 29: Reigning world champion P V Sindhu sailed into the women's singles quarterfinals with a straight-game triumph over Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt in the Olympics badminton competition here on Thursday.
The 26-year-old Indian, who won a silver in the 2016 Rio Olympics, notched up a 21-15, 21-13 win over 13th seed Blichfeldt in a 41-minute match.
Sindhu will next face the winner of the match between Akane Yamaguchi of Japan and Korea's Kim Gaeun.
"I started off well in the first game but around 15-16 I gave a couple of points because I was rushing in my defence. My coach was telling me that I was playing the wrong way and I realised that and I immediately changed my tactics and completed the first game," Sindhu told media after the match.
"Second game I was fine, I was maintaining the lead and finished it off."
Sindhu mixed her strokes well, putting her attacking clears and drops to good use besides smashing her way to finish points whenever there was a chance.
She anticipated the shuttle better and showed good court coverage during the 41-minute clash.
Blichfeldt did have her moments but she was too erratic to sustain the pressure on the Indian, who was always a step ahead of her rival during the contest.
Blichfeldt had a 2-0 lead early on but Sindhu soon took back control at 6-4 and kept her nose ahead before unleashing a cross court smash to enter the interval with a healthy 11-6 lead.
The Danish shuttler scripted a mini comeback, winning six of the next seven points, riding on a few smashes and Sindhu's unforced errors.
An unlucky net chord broke the run of points but Blichfeldt sent down two straight smashes to again narrow it to 14-16 before succumbing to a series of unforced errors.
The Indian revved up the pace in the second game to zoom to 5-0 but a wrong line judgement from her ended the run of points.
Blichfeldt tried to find an opening but Sindhu was always a step ahead as she again held a five-point advantage at the break.
After the interval, Sindhu lost a few points due to the occasional brilliance shown by her rival and sometimes, her own unforced error, but she was always in control and soon wrapped it up with a delicate shot near the net.
On Wednesday, Sindhu had defeated world No. 34 Hong Kong's NY Cheung 21-9 21-16 to top Group J.
Sindhu is the lone Indian badminton hope left in fray after B Sai Praneeth's maiden Olympic campaign ended in agony in the men's competition.
He went down in straight games to Mark Caljouw of Netherlands for his second defeat in Group D.
On Tuesday, the men's doubles team of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy suffered a heartbreak after failing to make the quarterfinals despite winning two matches in their group.
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Attack on Saif worrisome: NCP(SP) leader Supriya Sule
Mumbai (PTI): NCP (SP) Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule on Thursday expressed concern over the attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan by an intruder at his home in Mumbai and termed the incident as "worrisome".
Sule, who is a friend of Saif Ali Khan's wife Kareena Kapoor Khan's family, said the actor was hospitalised and was safe. The incident took place at around 2.30 am on Thursday at Saif Ali Kan's house in Mumbai's Bandra area, according to police. The actor, who was injured after the intruder attacked him with a knife, was hospitalised and required a medical procedure.
Sule spoke to Saif Ali Khan's sister-in-law Karisma Kapoor over phone in the presence of mediapersons at Baramati in Pune but declined to share details of the conversation. Saif Ali Khan was in hospital while Kareena had returned home, Sule was apparently told by Karisma Kapoor.
The NCP (SP) leader also enquired with Karisma Kapoor on how the intruder got inside Khan's house. "Saif is safe and in hospital. Wait for the official statement from the family and the police," Sule told reporters. The parliamentarian is a friend of Kareena Kapoor Khan's aunt Reema Jain, the daughter of legendary filmmaker and actor late Raj Kapoor.
"There was an attempted burglary in Saif Ali Khan and (his wife and actor) Kareena Kapoor Khan's residence last night. Saif had an injury on his arm for which he is in hospital, undergoing a procedure. The rest of the family is doing fine," Kareena Kapoor's team said in a statement. "We request the media and fans to be patient and not speculate any further as the police is already doing their due investigations. Thank you all for your concern," the statement said.
