Paris Olympics 2024 Badminton: PV Sindhu through to the knockout stages with emphatic win over Estonia's Kristina Kuuba
India’s PV Sindhu made easy work of Kristin Kuuba from Estonia in her last group stage match at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Wednesday, July 31. Sindhu displayed her dominance, defeating Kuuba in straight games with a score of 21-5, 21-10.
The first game began with Sindhu making no mistakes, quickly establishing an early 6-0 lead. She extended her advantage to 15-2 and closed the game at 21-5 in just 14 minutes.
While the first game saw Sindhu move her opponent around the court effortlessly, the second game started more competitively, with Kuuba taking the first couple of points. However, Sindhu quickly leveled the score and then surged ahead by winning six consecutive points.
Sindhu's powerful cross-court smashes and accurate shots to all corners of the court left Kuuba struggling to keep up. Kuuba then crawled up to 5-7, but despite a stronger performance from the Estonian, who started returning everything Sindhu was throwing at her, she found it difficult to finish points and made several errors. Sindhu led 11-6 at the halfway mark.
After the mid-game interval, Sindhu continued hitting her powerful cross-court smashes and extended her lead with eight consecutive points to reach 19-6. Following a few unforced errors, Sindhu wrapped up the game at 21-10, securing her victory.
With this win, PV Sindhu has topped her group undefeated and booked her place in the knockout stages, advancing to the last 16.
Lakshya Sen and Prannoy in action later today; Satwik-Chirag make it to the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics 2024
Later on Wednesday, India’s men’s singles badminton players will be in action. Lakshya Sen will face Jonatan Christie in a crucial match that will determine which shuttler advances to the knockout stages. HS Prannoy will compete against Vietnam’s Duc Phat Le in his final group-stage match.
Meanwhile, India’s men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have already secured their place in the quarterfinals. However, India’s women’s doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa ended their campaign at the Paris Olympics, finishing last in their group.