Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu delivered one of her finest performances of the season, defeating world No. 5 Han Yue of China in straight games to advance to the quarterfinals of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Thursday.
The world No. 10 Indian secured a dominant 21-16, 21-14 victory over the higher-ranked Chinese shuttler in just 35 minutes, booking her place in the last eight with an impressive display.
Sindhu dominates after strong recovery
After a slow start to the opening game, the unseeded Sindhu gradually found her rhythm, striking the shuttle with greater precision and taking control of the rallies to edge ahead.
She carried that momentum into the second game, racing to an 8-0 lead before comfortably closing out the match without allowing Han Yue any chance of a comeback.
With the win, Sindhu extended her head-to-head record against the Chinese player to 8-1.
Set to face Nozomi Okuhara
Sindhu will next take on Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in the quarterfinals.
Okuhara progressed after receiving a walkover when top seed An Se-young of South Korea withdrew from their second-round match.
India's lone remaining contender
Sindhu is now India's only remaining competitor in the tournament following the exit of the mixed doubles pair Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila.
The Indian duo put up a spirited fight but went down 20-22, 17-21 to top-seeded Chinese pair Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping in their Round of 16 encounter, which lasted 47 minutes.
