PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen Stroll Into Semifinals Of Syed Modi International

Star Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen moved a step closer to clinching the women's and men's singles title respectively, registering straight-game wins to advance to the semifinals of the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament on Friday. Top seed Sindhu, a two-time champion at the event (2017, 2022), defeated China's Dai Wang 21-15, 21-17 in a 48-minute women's singles quarterfinal. Lakshya, the 2021 World Championship bronze medallist, also dominated his match, beating compatriot Meiraba Luwang Maisnam 21-8, 21-19 in the men's singles quarterfinal.

“Today's match was important. Even though she is a low-ranked player, it doesn't matter. I have rectified my mistakes from yesterday, what went wrong I have not made those again today. I was aggressive from the beginning. Overall, I am happy with my game compared to yesterday,” Sindhu said.

Sindhu is ranked 18th in the world while Wang is at 118th.

"Yesterday, it was a rough patch at some point of time. But I think today I did not give her a chance. I am happy with the result and my game. I would like to finish the year on a very good note,” she said.

Sindhu will face fellow Indian Unnati Hooda in the semifinals, while Lakshya is set to meet Japan's Shogo Ogawa.

“It was a good match. Overall, happy with the way I started. The second game was tough at some moments but I am happy I could pull out the match,” Lakshya said.

Hooda, who won the Odisha Open title in 2022, earned a commanding 21-16, 21-9 victory over USA's Ishika Jaiswal in her quarterfinal match.

“I took time to adjust to the court conditions, but I stuck to my game plan and it became better with time,” said Hooda, who missed six months earlier this year due to injury.

“It is very different