paris: Star Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy advanced to the second round of women’s and men’s singles competitions respectively with straight-game wins at the BWF World Championships here on Tuesday. Sindhu, a former champion, looked nervy at the start but slowly stepped up the pace and sharpened her attack to outwit world No. 69 Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova 23-21 21-6.
The 2023 bronze winner, Prannoy, who has slipped to world No. 34, then prevailed 21-18 21-15 over Finland’s world No. 47 Joakim Oldorff in a 47-minute battle.
Sindhu will next meet Thailand’s Karupathevan Letshanaa, while Prannoy is likely to take on second seed Anders Antonsen.
Sindhu looked nervy at the start to fall 0-4 behind due to a series of miscued shots early on. From 6-2, Nalbantova gave away few freebies as Sindhu narrowed it to 5-7. The Bulgarian kept the
pressure on the Indian to move to 9-5. A well-placed shot followed by another precise return saw Nalbantova grab a 11-7 advantage at the break.