Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy put up commanding performances to sail into the quarter-finals of the 2016 Bonny China Masters in Jiangsu, China on Thursday. In women’s doubles, the country’s top pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa too booked their places in the last-eight but it was all over for Pranaav Jerry Chopra/Akshay Dewalkar in men’s doubles.
Fourth-seeded Sindhu was rock solid in her second round match and easily dispatched the 158th ranked Chinese Taipei player Chien-Hui Yu, 21-9, 21-17. The World No. 10 needed just 33 minutes for the win.
She will next face Thailand’s World No. 18 Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, who defeated her at the All-England Open in March.
Seventh-seeded HS Prannoy was also in total control in his third round match and closed out the 21-10, 21-15 victory over World No. 198 Daren Liew in 34 minutes.
World No. 1 up next for Prannoy
He has a tough task up next as he faces the top seed and World No. 1 Chen Long for a place in the semi-finals. This is the second consecutive week that the 23-year-old Indian will be playing the Chinese. At the Singapore Open Superseries, he lost a thrilling three-game match to Long in the first round.
Former Commonwealth Games gold medallists Jwala and Ashwini were in top form and comfortably beat the unseeded Chinese Taipei team of Hsieh Pei Chen and Wu Ti Jung, 21-12, 21-12.
The Indian pair too has been presented with a stiff challenge as they will square off against the Chinese top seeds Luo Ying and Luo Yu in the quarter-finals.
In men’s doubles, Chopra and Dewalkar’s run came to an end at the hands of the seventh seeds Wang Yilyu and Zhang Wen, 17-21, 12-21.
