Patumwan, Thailand: Three seeded Indian entries, including Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (1), PV Sindhu (6), and Lakshya Sen (7), advanced to the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open on Thursday.
Satwik-Chirag defeated their Malaysian opponents, Goonting Bryan Jeremy and Haikal Muhammad, 21-12, 21-19, while Sindhu won 21-13, 21-15 against Denmark's Amalie Schulz, and Lakshya registered a commanding 21-12, 21-13 win over China's Zhu Xuan Chen to seal their places in the last eight, as per a release.
The World Tour Finals 2025 bronze medal-winning pair of Satwik and Chirag outplayed their Malaysian opponents in straight games in 44 minutes to set up a quarterfinal clash against Japanese sixth seeds Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami.
Sindhu dominated Schulz in identical games, winning 21-13, 21-15 in 28 minutes. The Indian star scored seven consecutive points in both games, from 9-6 to 15-6 in the first and from 9-7 to 15-7 in the second, to advance.
A tantalising challenge awaits Sindhu in the quarterfinals as she faces World No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, where the Indian holds a 15-12 head-to-head advantage.
In men's singles, Sen registered a comfortable victory over Chen in straight games. Lakshya will next face second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the quarterfinals, with the Thai shuttler holding a 7-4 head-to-head advantage over the Indian.
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In the other draws, Kidambi Srikanth and Devika Sihag exited the tournament, while Malvika Bansod will play her Round of 16 match against Chen Yufei later today.
