New Delhi: Two-time Olympic winner PV Sindhu progressed in the second round of the Malaysia Masters 2023 women’s singles badminton event with a comprehensive win against Denmark’s Line Christophersen in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
Playing at the Axiata Arena, world No. 13 Sindhu beat world No. 33 Line Christophersen in three hard-fought sets (21-13, 17-21, 21-18) in the round of 32 of the BWF Super 500 event.
PV Sindhu, who has been struggling to maintain consistency this year, took her time to settle in the match and then outplayed her opponent on the court after the scores were tied at 5-5 in the first set.
The Indian went into the break in the first set of the match leading 11-8, but soon she maintained the lead and won the first set comprehensively by 21-13. Both the shuttlers fought very hard in the second set of the match, but eventually Christophersen made a comeback and won the second set by 17-21.
It was a stiff competition between the two in the second set, as at one point the scores were tied at 17-17, but world no. 33 executed her plans well to pin Sindhu down and take the match into the deciding set.
During the third set, the Indian shuttler found herself trailing against the Danish shuttler by 13-16, but PV Sindhu showed her class and calmness, which helped her make a stunning comeback and win the deciding set by 21-18.
The former world champion PV Sindhu used all her skills and experience to defeat Christophersen in one hour and two minutes. Overall, this is the fifth victory for PV Sindhu over Line Christophersen in as many matches. The Indian superstar will play against world no. 28 Aya Ohori of Japan in the round of 16 on Thursday.