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Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist PV Sindhu will square off against World No. 13 Busanan Ongbamrungphan on Friday (October 29) for a spot in the semifinals of the French Open Badminton.
Interestingly, the two faced off just a week back in the second round of the Denmark Open. Sindhu was made to work hard by Ongbamrungphan and needed three games to see off the Thai 21-16, 12-21, 21-15.
The Indian will hope for an easier outing this time around in Paris. Sindhu has started her French Open Badminton campaign with a couple of straight-game wins, although she is yet to hit her stride.
The two-time Olympic medalist has been improving with each round, though. She looked more of her usual self in the second game against World No. 24 Line Christophersen in the second round on Thursday night.
Having struggled to edge the Dane 21-19 in the opening game, Sindhu completely dominated the second game with a brilliant attacking display on her way to a 21-19, 21-9 win.
She will look to draw confidence from that performance as she takes to the court against the Thai veteran on Friday. Ongbamrungphan has lost 13 times to Sindhu in their 14 meetings in a lopsided rivalry. But it is interesting to note that she managed to take a game off the Indian in seven of those matches.
The 2021 Orleans Masters champion does indeed have the game to trouble Sindhu. But if the World No. 7 can cut down on her unforced errors and find her range early in the match, she will be on her way to notching her third win of the year over Ongbamrungphan.
French Open Badminton 2021: Match details
Fixture: (3) PV Sindhu vs (8) Busanan Ongbamrungphan.
Head-to-head: PV Sindhu leads Busanan Ongbamrungphan 13-1, having beaten the Thai 21-16, 12-21, 21-15 in their last meeting at the 2021 Denmark Open a week ago.
Date: 29 October 2021.
Time: Approx 5:30 pm local time, 9:00 pm IST.
Tournament: Yonex French Open 2021.
Round: Quarterfinals.
Venue: Stade Pierre de Coubertin, Paris.
Category: BWF World Tour Super 750.
Prize money: $600,000.
French Open Badminton 2021: TV schedule
The French Open Badminton 2021 is being telecast live on the Star Sports 3 TV channel in India.
French Open Badminton 2021: Live streaming details
The French Open Badminton 2021 can be live-streamed on the Disney+Hotstar app.
