P.V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth advanced comfortably to the round of 16 of the Thailand Open Super 500 tournament after convincing straight-game victories in Bangkok on Wednesday.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu, seeded sixth in the women’s singles draw, produced a dominant display against Chinese Taipei’s Tung Ciou-Tong. The Indian star barely put a foot wrong during the 33-minute contest, sealing a 21-9, 21-12 victory to begin her campaign in emphatic fashion.
Sindhu, who is searching for her first title since winning the Syed Modi International in 2024, will next face Denmark’s World No. 41 Amalie Schulz in the second round. The upcoming clash will mark the first meeting between the two players on the international circuit.
In the men’s singles event, former world championship silver medallist Srikanth rolled back the years with a composed win over Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew, the eighth seed and former world champion. The encounter was a rematch of the 2021 World Championships final, but this time Srikanth looked in complete control.
The Indian shuttler, currently ranked World No. 29, wrapped up a 21-14, 21-15 victory with little trouble despite a brief wobble late in the second game. The 2013 Thailand Open champion will now face Chinese Taipei’s Su Li Yang in the next round.
There was disappointment, however, for rising Indian star Ayush Shetty. The 21-year-old entered his opening-round clash against Japan’s sixth seed Kodai Naraoka holding a favourable 2-1 head-to-head record.
After losing the opening game, Ayush fought back strongly to level the contest by taking the second game 21-17. But World No. 9 Naraoka completely dominated the deciding game, racing to a 21-4 win to close out the match 21-13, 17-21, 21-4 in 59 minutes.
Teenager Unnati Hooda also bowed out despite showing signs of improvement against Thailand’s fourth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong. Hooda had failed to win a single game in her previous three meetings against the Thai player, but this time managed to claim the opener 21-11.
However, backed by strong home support, Chochuwong recovered to take the next two games 21-17 and 21-16 and secure victory after one hour and 12 minutes.
Elsewhere, Tharun Mannepalli suffered a straight-game defeat to Japan’s Koki Watanabe in the men’s singles opening round.
