Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu beat Korea's Sim Yu Jin in Thailand Open on Thursday to set up a quarterfinal clash with second-seeded Japanese shuttler Akane Yamaguchi.
Sixth-seeded Sindhu won 21-16, 21-13 against the Korean shuttler in 37 minutes. The last eight clash between World No. 7 Sindhu and World No. 1 Yamaguchi will be their 23rd meeting. Sindhu leads 13-9 in the head-to-head.
The duo last faced each other in the semifinal of the Asian Championships in which Yamaguchi came back from a set down to beat Sindhu 13-21, 21-19, 21-16. Sindhu, after clinching the opening game was leading 13-11 in the second when she was given a point penalty for time wasting.
"The umpire told me you're taking a lot of time but the opponent wasn't ready at that point. But the umpire suddenly gave her the point and it was really unfair. I think that was one of the reasons why I lost," Sindhu had told PTI after the match.
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Earlier in the day, Kidambi Srikanth, one of the main architects of India's historic Thomas Cup triumph, exited from the tournament after handing a walkover to Irish rival Nhat Nguyen in the second round.
The world no. 11 Indian had earlier produced a gritty show to get the better of Brice Leverdez of France 18-21, 21-10, 21-16 in his opening round match.
In the women's singles, it was curtains for Malvika Bansod, who lost 21-16 14-21 14-21 to Line Christopherson of Denmark in the second round.
The Indian mixed doubles pair of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto also bowed out in the second round, losing 19-21 20-22 against sixth seeded Malaysia combination of Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie.
Later, Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam too crashed out in the women's doubles second round, losing 19-21 6-21 against fifth seeds Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara.
(With inputs from PTI)
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