Changzhou: Olympic and world championship silver medallist P.V. Sindhu on Tuesday progressed to the last eight of the $1 million (Dh3.67 million) China Open World Tour Super 1000 tournament. The third-seeded Indian defeated World No. 39 Saena Kawakami of Japan 21-15, 21-13 in the opening round at the Olympic Sports Centre Xincheng Gymnasium.
The match started out as a close contest with Sindhu and Saena before the Indian broke away to grab a 13-7 lead at one stage. She kept dominating the rallies and pocketed the opening game without much trouble.
In the second game, Sindhu roared to a 6-0 lead but Saena pulled back before the Indian entered the interval with a slender 11-9 lead.
After the break, Sindhu jumped to 15-11 before grabbing eight points at 20-12 and sealed it comfortably.
