Paris Olympics: Shuttler PV Sindhu starts her bid for medal
Indian shuttler PV Sindhu is off to a winning start in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 29-year-old claimed a straight-game win against Maldives' FN Abdul Razzaq in the first round in less than 30 minutes. Sindhu, who won 21-9, 21-6 is vying for her third medal at the Olympic games. She could become the first-ever Indian athlete to win three individual Olympic medals.
A look at match stats
Sindhu won a total of 42 points compared to 15 of Abdul Razzaq in the match. The Indian shuttler won the most successive points in the match (10). As many as 57 points were played throughout the match. Notably, both Sindhu and Abdul Razzaq used one challenge each. The former claimed eight consecutive points in Game 2.
Sindhu 2-0 Abdul Razzaq
Sindhu now has a 2-0 lead over Abdul Razzaq in the BWF head-to-head series. The Indian also prevailed in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games (CWG) clash between the two. Notably, Sindhu won in straight games.
India's medal hopeful at Paris Games
Sindhu is one of the contenders to secure a medal for India at the Paris Games. She could become the first-ever Indian athlete to win three individual Olympic medals. Sindhu won bronze and silver medals at the 2020 Tokyo and 2016 Rio Olympics, respectively, in badminton. The Indian shuttler would potentially face second seed Chen Yufei in the women's singles semi-finals.
What about other Indian players?
In other results, India's Lakshya Sen defeated Kevin Cordon of Guatemala in the first round of the men's singles badminton event. Lakshya defeated his opponent 21-8, 22-20 in straight games. India's famed men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also won their opening clash. The Indian duo overcame France's Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar.
