Indonesia Masters GP: Srikanth sails into semis, Sindhu sinks

Top seed K Srikanth advanced to the semi-finals in the men's singles but P V Sindhu suffered heartbreak as she bowed out of the women's singles, at the US $120,000 Indonesia Masters Grand Prix Gold tournament, in Malang, on Friday.

World No. 9 Srikanth, who has qualified for the BWF Super Series Finals, emerged the lone Indian survivor after trouncing Malaysia's Teck Zhi Soo, seeded 15th, 21-10, 21-5 in just 24 minutes.

The 22-year-old from Guntur, who had defeated China's Qiao Bin 21-12, 21-15 on Thursday, will take on Indonesia's Ginting Anthony.

Two-time bronze medallist at the World Championships, Sindhu, who clinched the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold last week, suffered an unexpected 21-23, 13-21 defeat to He Bingjiao of China in 36 minutes.

Srikanth opened up 6-0 and 5-0 leads in the first and second games respectively and marched ahead without much ado.

In the women's singles quarter-finals, a lot was expected from Sindhu, but the Indian found the going tough against Bingjiao, who led 10-5 in the opening game.

Even though Sindhu drew abreast at 15 and then grabbed a slender 20-19 lead, the Chinese pocketed the opening game.

In the second game, Bingjiao led 6-5 and then reeled off nine straight points to dash Sindhu's hopes of a comeback.

Image: K Srikanth