Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu stormed into the pre-quarter-finals of the Olympic women's singles competition after beating Estonia's Kristin Kuuba in straight games in Paris on Wednesday.
The two-time Olympics medallist won her second and last Group M match 21-5, 21-10 in just 33 minutes.
Joining her in the pre-quarters were men's singles stars Lakshya Sen and H S Prannoy. Sen scored a stunning 21-18, 21-12 win over Indonesia's world No. 4 Jonatan Christie in the final Group L match while Prannoy rallied from a game down to beat Vietnam's Le Duc Phat 16-21, 21-11, 21-12.
Sen and Prannoy will clash in the pre-quarter-finals.
The winner of each of the 16 groups qualifies for the Round of 16.
The 29-year-old Sindhu, who had beaten Maldives' Fathimath Abdul Razzaq 21-9 21-6 in her first match, topped the group.
The Indian ace won a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Games and bronze in the Tokyo edition.
Just like in her first match, Sindhu did not have to toil much, as the gulf in class between the two players was evident.
The Estonian, ranked 73rd in the world as against 13th position of the Indian, was completely out of sorts in the first game which Sindhu pocketed in 14 minutes.
The 27-year-old Kuuba gave a fight in the second game, making a lot of retrievals, but Sindhu was just too good for her ultimately.
Kuuba took a 2-0 lead but Sindhu quickly seized the initiative and levelled the score. But Kuuba did not throw in the towel and engaged the Indian in longer rallies.
There was one rare moment when Sindhu was stretched to the full near the net and Kuuba smashed the shuttle beyond the reach of the Indian.
But the vastly experienced Sindhu was in her elements soon after.
Two cross-court smashes gave Sindhu a 15-6 lead and from there on, it was all over for the Estonian, who saved two match points before surrendering.
Sen stuns Christie to enter men's singles pre-quarterfinals
India's Lakshya Sen progressed to the pre-quarterfinals of the Olympics men's singles badminton competition with a stunning straight-game win over Indonesia's world number 4 Jonatan Christie in the final group match.
The 22-year-old from Almora, a 2021 world championships bronze medallist, displayed great maturity and tactical acumen to outwit Christie, the reigning All England and Asian champion, 21-18, 21-12 in what turned out to be a lop-sided contest.
Sen had defeated Kevin Cordon, a Tokyo Olympics semifinalist, in the opening Group L match on Sunday which was "deleted" after his Guatemalan opponent pulled out due to a left elbow injury.
A gold medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Sen beat Julien Carraggi of Belgium before facing Christie.
The only time the Indian had defeated Christie was four years ago at the Badminton Asia Team Championships and came into this match with a dismal 1-4 head-to-head count.
However, Sen rose to the occasion on Wednesday and showed great maturity as he went about his business.
He tried to keep the shuttle flat and target the weak forehand of Christie, who looked to slow down the rallies and used his cross court shots at the corners to trouble the Indian, albeit without much success.
In the first game, Christie opened up a 5-0 lead and soon moved to 8-2. However, Sen regrouped quickly, kept the shuttle flat and waited for his opponent to make mistakes.
It worked as he moved to 7-8 before a thunderous forehand smash earned the Indian a slim one-point advantage.
Sen engaged Christie in fast and flat exchanges to move to 14-12, and the latter slowed down the pace with a gruelling rally, which he won with a push at the backline.
The Indonesian drew parity at 16-16 with a precise cross-court smash, which a diving Sen couldn't reach and soon eked out a two-point lead at 18-16. A straight smash from Sen was followed by a wide smash from Christie, and it was 18-18.
A perfect flat push and then an incredible behind-the-back return in the middle of the next rally gave Sen game point and he converted it easily to earn the bragging rights.
After the change of sides, Sen made some judgment errors at the backline as the two were tied 3-3. But the Indian kept peppering the back court with his pushes and smashes and played at a high tempo. His reflex defence was also rock solid as he moved to 10-5.
Another error from Christie, and it was a five-point advantage for Sen at the halfway mark. The Indian kept his opponent at bay with a barrage of strokes and didn't allow him to come to the net.
The Indonesian made too many errors in desperation, missing the lines often as Sen moved to 18-12. Another flat exchange ended at the net as Sen inched closer to the line.
Another long rally ended with a long shot for the Indonesian as Sen grabbed eight match points and when the Indonesian sent another to the net, the Indian rejoiced.
Prannoy rallies to down Vietnam's Le Duc Phat
Late in the day, H S Prannoy staved off a spirited challenge from Vietnam's Le Duc Phat in his final group match to also advance to the pre-quarter-final.
The 32-year-old from Kerala, who recovered from a bout of chikungunya to make it to his maiden Olympics, lost the opening game but got his act together in time to notch a 16-21, 21-11, 21-12 over the world No. 70.
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