The Indian squad saw mostly positive results during Wednesday's action at the Madrid Spain Masters. While PV Sindhu and Akarshi Kashyap breezed through their matches with comfortable straight-set wins, Kidambi Srikanth had a much tougher path, barely escaping a scare in his first-round encounter.
Indian shuttlers largely had a good day at the Madrid Spain Masters on Wednesday with PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, and Akarshi Kashyap winning their respective matches. The women’s players Sindhu and Akarshi registered straight-set wins with ease while men’s player Srikanth survived a massive scare in the opening round of the Madrid Masters tournament.
India's star player, PV Sindhu, cruised into the Round of 16 of the Super 300 event after defeating Jenjira Stadelmann of Switzerland 21-10, 21-14 in just over half an hour. This victory marks the second time this month that the Olympic double medalist has beaten Stadelmann, following a similar result at the Swiss Open 2023.
Currently ranked 11th in the world, Sindhu took immediate control of the first game with a quick 4-0 lead. Stadelmann, the 23-year-old Swiss athlete, managed to fight back to 5-5 using effective cross-court shots. However, Sindhu regained the upper hand through patient, long rallies, reaching the mid-game interval at 11-5. She maintained this pressure, giving away only five more points to close out the opening set 21-10.
The second game was more competitive, as Stadelmann played more aggressively to prevent Sindhu from dominating. With the score tied at 9-9, Sindhu broke the deadlock with a clever cross-court drop and a strong overhead shot that Stadelmann couldn't handle. Despite this, the Swiss player remained resilient, leveling the score at 11-11 and eventually taking a slight 13-11 lead by catching Sindhu out of position.
Sindhu staged a strong comeback as Stadelmann began struggling with close-range exchanges and unforced errors. The turning point came when a missed smash right at the net handed the momentum back to the Indian star. Sindhu surged to an 18-13 lead and eventually wrapped up the match with a 21-14 win in the second game.
In the men's singles category, Kidambi Srikanth survived a rollercoaster opening match against Thailand's Sitthikom Thammasin, winning 21-11, 25-27, 23-21 in a grueling battle that lasted over an hour. After a dominant first set, the former world number one seemed poised for an easy win, but he lost his rhythm in the second, allowing the world no. 32 to save six match points and force a deciding game.
The final set followed a similar pattern; Srikanth built a comfortable 11-5 lead but faltered momentarily, letting Thammasin reach two match points. Ultimately, Srikanth held his nerve to secure the victory, setting up an intriguing all-Indian clash against Sai Praneeth in the second round.