Badminton

Double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu's Arctic Open Super 500 campaign came to an abrupt end in the round of 32, as she succumbed to a 16-21, 10-21 defeat against Canada's Michelle Li. However, rising Indian shuttler Malvika Bansod continued her impressive form, stunning world No. 23 Sung Shuo Yun 21-19, 24-22 to advance to the women's singles pre-quarterfinals.Bansod's victory is a testament to her growing prowess on the international stage. The 23-year-old southpaw, who clinched her first title in over two years at the Azerbaijan International in February, showed her resilience in a hard-fought match that lasted 57 minutes.In the next round, Bansod will face a formidable challenge in the form of either Ratchanok Intanon, the 2013 world champion from Thailand and tournament top seed, or Wang Zhi Yi, the 2022 world champion from China.Meanwhile, Aakarshi Kashyap also secured a place in the pre-quarterfinals with a 21-19, 21-14 victory over Germany's Yvonne Li in another women's singles contest.Sindhu's early exit marks her first tournament since the Paris Olympics. The 27-year-old Indian, who has won two Olympic medals (a silver in Rio 2016 and a bronze in Tokyo 2020), will be hoping to bounce back in her next outing.

Double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu has advanced to the second round of the women's singles competition at the prestigious All England Championships. Her German opponent, Yvonne Li, retired after the completion of the first game on Tuesday.Sindhu, the former world champion and current world No. 11, dominated the first game, winning 21-10. However, Li, ranked 26th in the world, decided to withdraw from the match due to an undisclosed reason.The 28-year-old from Hyderabad will now face top seed An Se Young of Korea in the second round. An has been a formidable opponent for Sindhu, having defeated her in all six of their previous encounters.An, who is recovering from a right knee injury, recently secured her second title of the season at the French Open last Sunday.In the first game against Li, Sindhu and her opponent were initially neck-and-neck, tied at 4-4. However, Sindhu quickly pulled away, establishing an 11-7 lead at the break. She continued to extend her advantage, eventually winning the game when Li's flick serve landed in the net.Sindhu's victory marks a positive start to her campaign at the All England Championships. She will be hoping to overcome her past struggles against An and advance to the later stages of the tournament.