Basel, Mar 22 (Agency) The Swiss Open witnessed a mix of results for Indian shuttlers. Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu faced 21-16 19-21 16-21 defeat at the hands of Japanese teenager Tomoka Miyazaki, while top Indian male shuttler Lakshya Sen was also ousted by Lee Chia-Hao of Chinese-Taipei with the scoreline of 17-21 15-21 in just 38 minutes in round 16. However, there were bright spots as well. Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth managed to secure a place in the quarterfinals by defeating top seed Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia 21-61 21-15. Priyansh Rajawat and Kiran George also won their respective men’s singles round-of-16 matches to advance to the quarterfinals. George prevailed over French shuttler Alex Lanier 18-21 22-20 21-18 in a gruelling 71-minute contest to book a quarterfinal berth.
Rajawat got the better of Lei La Xi of China 21-14 21-13 to clinch a last-eight berth. In women’s doubles, the Indian pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand progressed to the quarterfinals with a straight-game win over compatriots Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra. However, the pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa faced defeat at the hands of a Japanese duo. Despite Sindhu’s loss, her performance indicated a return to form after a long injury layoff. Miyazaki, the 17-year-old Japanese shuttler, displayed her prowess by drawing on her youthful energy and claiming victory over the experienced Sindhu.Looking ahead, Srikanth will face Lee Chia-Hao in the quarterfinals, while Rajawat will clash against Chou Tien-Chen of Chinese-Taipei. Kiran George will strive to secure a semifinal berth by facing Rasmus Gemke of Denmark.