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Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth upset eighth seed Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in straight games, 21-14, 21-15, in the Round of 32 of the Thailand Open currently underway at the Nimibutr Stadium in Thailand.
Meanwhile, PV Sindhu defeated Chinese Taipei's Tung Ciou-Tong 21-9, 21-12, while Devika Sihag emerged victorious with a 21-19, 13-21, 21-15 win against Japan's Natsuki Nidaira. Srikanth, entering the tournament fresh from India's Thomas Cup bronze medal finish, left no room for the former world champion to dominate, wrapping up the match in just 30 minutes. He will next face Su Li Yang of Chinese Taipei in the pre-quarterfinals. In the other men's singles draw, Lakshya Sen, returning from his injury at the Thomas Cup, defeated Singapore's Jia Heng Jason Teh 21-16, 21-17 in 43 minutes to advance. Sindhu, seeded sixth in the tournament, began her opening game trailing 3-0 against her Chinese Taipei opponent before registering a dominant win and advancing to the next round. Thailand Masters 2026 champion Devika Sihag, although starting the match on a winning note, was pushed into a decider after the Japanese shuttler took control from 15-13 in the second game, scoring six consecutive points to secure the second. The youngster initially struggled to maintain her lead in the decider, with Natsuki levelling the scores until 5-5. However, Devika went on a seven-point streak to open up an 11-5 advantage before sealing the victory. Sindhu will next face Amalie Schulz of Denmark, while Devika will take on Pitchamon Opatniputh of Thailand. Malvika Bansod advanced too, defeating her Canadian opponent 13-21, 26-24, 21-13 in 53 minutes. In another notable draw, Anmol Kharb put up a strong fight against World No. 4 and second seed Chen Yu Fei of China. Anmol claimed the opening game 21-19 and forced the match into a decider. Despite maintaining an 11-2 lead in the final game, she could not convert it into a victory, eventually going down 21-19, 13-21, 18-21 in a hard-fought battle lasting one hour and ten minutes. (ANI)
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