PV Sindhu registered a straight games win over Maldives’ Fathimath Abdul Razzaq.© AFP
Two-time Olympic medallist Indian shuttler PV Sindhu began her Paris Olympics campaign with a resounding win in straight games over Maldives’ Fathimath Abdul Razzaq in the women’s singles group stage match, on Sunday. The gulf of class between the two players was evident as Sindhu, who is vying for a third Olympic medal, took just 29 minutes to dispatch her lower-ranked opponent 21-9 21-6 in the Group M fixture. After a couple of unforced errors, Sindhu was quick to assess the condition and took control of the proceedings, racing to a 11-4 lead.
The world No 111 Fathimath was no match against the former world champion who finished the first game in a mere 13 minutes.
The second game followed a similar manner with Sindhu claiming the first four points in the blink of an eye to take an early lead.
However, Razzaq capitalised on Sindhu’s error to bridge the gap to make it 3-4. But it became a one-sided contest once again as the Indian increased the gap to 10-3.
In the end, Sindhu had as many as 14 match points but the world No 13 needed only one to seal the tie.
The 10th seeded Indian, who won the silver medal in the Rio Games in 2016 and a bronze in the last edition in Tokyo, will take on World No 75 Kristin Kuuba of Estonia in her second group match on Wednesday.
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