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World No. 5 PV Sindhu and World No. 13 Mia Blichfeldt both began their campaigns in similar fashion on Wednesday before crossing swords in their second-round encounter at the Indonesia Open in Jakarta.
Both the Indian and the Dane were made to work hard before they managed to win in three grueling games. While Sindhu came storming back from 11-21 to secure an 11-21, 21-15, 21-15 win over the 21st ranked Aya Ohori, Blichfeldt warded off danger with a 19-21, 21-15, 21-17 win over World No. 38 Yip Pui Yin.
After those energy-sapping matches, the Indian and the Danish shuttler will now meet for the third time this year following straight-game wins for Sindhu at the India Open and the Singapore Open.
The Rio Olympic silver medallist has never lost to Blichfeldt, which is why she should be the heavy favorite on paper. However, the fifth seed cannot afford to take her opponent lightly.
Since her biggest title win at the BWF World Tour Finals last December, Sindhu has struggled to replicate that form. Moments of indecision and a lack of sharpness have cost her a few matches that she should have won, as demonstrated by her second-round loss to Nitchaon Jindapol at the Australian Open last month.
Even in Jakarta, she took a lot of time to find her rhythm against Ohori, which shows that she is still suffering from lapses of concentration.
Sindhu needs to ensure that she doesn't repeat this as the road ahead gets tougher and this would be the perfect place to get some confidence before a possible quarter-final clash with old foe, Nozomi Okuhara.
Here is all you need to know about the Indonesia Open:
Tournament name: Blibli Indonesia Open 2019
Category: Super 1000
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Schedule of match: (5) PV Sindhu vs Mia Blichfeldt at approx 1 pm IST on Thursday, July 18 2019
Head-to-head: Sindhu leads Blichfeldt 2-0
Where to watch the matches in India?
The Indonesia Open matches will be telecast live on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD from July 17.
Live Stream Details and Info for the matches:
Live Stream for the matches is available on hotstar.com.
