Jakarta

India’s leading shuttlers Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the Indonesia Masters on Wednesday with impressive opening-round victories.

In a gripping men’s singles Round of 32 encounter, Kidambi Srikanth battled past Japan’s Koki Watanabe in a marathon match lasting over an hour. The former world No. 1 edged out the 22nd-ranked Watanabe in three closely contested games, winning 21-15, 21-23, 24-22 to seal his place in the next round.

Lakshya Sen also progressed after overcoming Taiwan’s Wang Tzu-wei in a three-game clash. Sen took the first game comfortably at 21-13, before Wang responded to level the match by claiming the second 21-16. The Indian shuttler regained control in the decider, closing out the match with a 21-14 victory.

India’s Kiran George, however, suffered an early exit in the men’s singles, going down 17-21, 14-21 to Indonesia’s Moh Zaki Ubaidillah.

In the women’s singles category, PV Sindhu put up a composed performance to defeat Japan’s Manami Suizu in straight games. The match was closely fought, with Sindhu prevailing 22-20, 21-18 to move into the pre-quarterfinals.

Akarshi Kashyap’s campaign ended in the opening round as she lost to Denmark’s Julie Dawall Jakobsen in a three-game contest. Kashyap won the first game 21-8 but was unable to maintain momentum, eventually losing 20-22, 17-21.

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India’s mixed doubles challenge came to an end on a disappointing note, with both pairs bowing out in the first round. Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde were defeated by fourth seeds Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue of France 9-21, 20-22. The duo of Dhruv Kapila and Tanish Crasto also exited after a three-game loss to Julien Maio and Lea Palermo, going down 23-21, 20-22, 6-21.