Paris Olympics 2024: PV Sindhu Qualifies For Badminton Pre-Quarterfinals With Win Over Kristin Kubba

Paris: PV Sindhu continued her dominating run at the Paris Olympics 2024 with a 21-5, 21-10 win over Kristin Kubba of Estonia in the final Group M match on Wednesday. With this win, Sindhu qualified for the pre-quarterfinals with a 100 per cent win record in Paris. She will next face He Bingjiao of China in the round of 16.

Earlier, Sindhu took just 29 minutes to beat Maldives’ FN Abdul Razzaq 21-7, 21-9 in her first game. The Indian ace has previously won a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Games and a bronze in the Tokyo edition.

Just like in her first match, Sindhu did not have to toil much, as the gulf in class between the two players was evident. The Estonian, ranked 73rd in the world as against 13th position of the Indian, was completely out of sorts in the first game which Sindhu pocketed in 14 minutes.

The 27-year-old Kuuba gave a fight in the second game, making a lot of retrievals, but Sindhu was just too good for her ultimately. Kuuba took a 2-0 lead but Sindhu quickly seized the initiative and levelled the score. But Kuuba did not throw in the towel and engaged the Indian in longer rallies.

There was one rare moment when Sindhu was stretched to the full near the net and Kuuba smashed the shuttle beyond the reach of the Indian. But the vastly experienced Sindhu was in her elements soon after. Two cross-court smashes gave Sindhu a 15-6 lead and from there on, it was all over for the Estonian, who saved two match points before surrendering.