Today was a mixed day for Indian badminton players. On one hand where Srikanth Kidambi and P.V. Sindhu won their respective matches and made India proud, Saina Nehwal’s performance was a disappointment.
Saina’s match was the first in the day. She gave a tough completion and she played the game well. But her opponent, Marija Ulitina of Ukraine, was better. Saina lost two sets in a row with 18-21 and 19-21 and could not make it to the next round of Women’s Badminton singles’ event. Great things were expected from her but her performance was a disappointment and nothing else.
Next match was played between Srikanth Kidambi and Henri Hurskainen of Sweden and was beautifully won by Srikanth by winning two consecutive sets with 21-6 and 21- 18. His performance was marvellous and he is a very strong medal contender in the Men’s Badminton Singles’ event.
The last match of the day was played between P.V. Sindhu and Michelle Li1 of Canada. After losing the first to Li, Sindhu picked up pace in the second one and won both second and third sets with 21-15 and 21-17 securing her place in the next round.
With Sindhu and Kidami, India still have a faint hope for a medal in Badminton singles. The road ahead for Srikanth though is tougher as his next opponent could be defending champion Chinese Lin Dan.