PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen off to winning start at World Tour Finals; doubles pairs lose

Indian singles players PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen launched their campaign on a winning note at the BWF World Tour Finals on Wednesday.

The season-ending badminton tournament started in Bali with record participation of seven Indian players for the first time in the history of the event.

While all three singles players Sindhu, Srikanth and Lakshya posted victories in their respective opening group matches, both the doubles pairs disappointed.

All the world’s top players have been divided into two groups of four each with the top two from both Group A and Group B qualifying for the semifinals. The finals in each category will take place on Sunday.

Third-time lucky for Lakshya Sen against Kento Momota

The BWF World Tour Finals is the third successive tournament in Bali in as many weeks. Coincidentally in all three tournaments Lakshya faced the Japanese giant.

After two defeats against the in-form Japanese in the last couple of weeks, Lakshya finally ended up on the winning side. It was third time lucky for Lakshya as southpaw Momota retired when the score was tied 1-1 in the first game.

World No. 2 Momota had emerged champion at the Indonesian Masters last month, where he had defeated Lakshya 21-13, 21-19. In last week’s Indonesia Open, Lakshya went down fighting against Momota 21-23, 15-21 in the first round.

Although Lakshya would have liked to beat Momota in a completed match, the 20-year-old Indian must have been happy to finally finish on the winning side.

Sindhu posts clinical victory against Denmark’s Line Christophersen

Sindhu dismissed Denmark’s Line Christophersen 21-14, 21-16 in a one-sided contest to start her Group A campaign on a rousing note. Two-time Olympic medalist Sindhu needed 38 minutes to get the better of the Dane.

The reigning world champion Sindhu is the only Indian to win the year-ending tournament in 2018. The 26-year-old Sindhu will take on Yvonne Li of Germany in their second group match on Thursday.

Sindhu began well as she opened up a 5-2 lead. Line made a comeback and reduced the deficit to just one point. Sindhu then reeled off 10 successive points to claim the first game 21-14.

In the second game, Line performed better and was leading briefly at 4-2. Sindhu bounced back to regain a narrow 11-10 lead at the break.

After the resumption, Sindhu jumped to 17-13 and went on to close the match with a 21-16 verdict in her favor.

Kidambi Srikanth avenges defeat against Toma Junior Popov

Kidambi Srikanth, meanwhile, outclassed Toma Junior Popov of France 21-14, 21-16 in a 42-minute battle. With the win, former World No. 1 Srikanth avenged an earlier defeat against the young Frenchman.

Kidambi Srikanth beat Toma Junior Popov of France 21-14, 21-16 in the men's singles opening match

Srikanth, who reached the semifinals of the 2014 edition in Dubai, will next play three-time junior world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand.

Both Indian doubles pairs start with defeat

Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy lost 14-21 18-21 to second-seeded Japanese combination Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida in their opening group B match.

Ashwini and Sikki will lock horns with Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva of Bulgaria on Thursday.

The ace men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also disappointed. The Indian combination was beaten 16-21, 5-21 by Danish pair of Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen in a Group A contest.

Satwiksairaj and Chirag will square off against their nemesis and World No. 1 combine of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia in their second outing.

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Indian Results (Day 1)

Men’s singles

Group B: Kidambi Srikanth bt Toma Junior Popov (France) 21-14, 21-16 (42 minutes)

Group A: Lakshya Sen bt Kento Momota (Japan) 1-1 (Retired) (1 minute)

Women’s singles

Group A: PV Sindhu bt Line Christophersen (Denmark) 21-14, 21-16 (38 minutes)

Men’s doubles

Group A: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty lost to Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Denmark) 16-21, 5-21 (40 minutes)

Women’s doubles

Group B: Ashwini Ponnappa-N Sikki Reddy lost to 2-Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida (Japan) 11-21, 18-21 (43 minutes)

Indians in action on Thursday (Day 2)

Men’s singles

Group B: Kidambi Srikanth vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand)

Group A: Lakshya Sen vs 1-Viktor Axelsen (Denmark)

Women’s singles

Group A: PV Sindhu vs Yvonne Li (Germany)

Men’s doubles

Group A: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty vs 1-Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Indonesia)

Women’s doubles

Group B: Ashwini Ponnappa-N Sikki Reddy vs Gabriela Stoeva-Stefani Stoeva (Bulgaria).