Olympics: Sindhu beats Cheung in straight games, enter pre-quarterfinals
Reigning world champion P V Sindhu advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of women's singles badminton event at the Tokyo Olympics after beating Hong Kong's NY Cheung in a group J match here on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Indian, who had claimed a silver medal in the last edition in Rio, prevailed over world No. 34 Cheung 21-9 21-16 in a 35-minute match to top the group. This was Sindhu's sixth win over Cheung in as many meetings.
"I found my rhythm from the second game on and I finished it off. It was a fast game and I made a couple of unforced errors. I changed my tactics and got things under control. This type of test is important before a big match," Sindhu said after the match.
World No. 7 Sindhu will meet Denmark's world number 12 Mia Blichfeldt, who topped Group I. Sindhu has a 4-1 head-to-head record against Blichfeldt, whose only win against the Indian was at the Yonex Thailand Open earlier this year.
"It's not going to be an easy game. I need to recover well and come back ...