By: Mohit Singhal

Malayasia Open: Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy raced to the quarterfinals of the Malaysian Open on Thursday with contrasting wins where Prannoy showed a glimpse of his class while Sindhu came back like a true champion.

Rio Olympics silver winner Sindhu overcame Thailand’s challenge of Phittayaporn Chaiwan after being one game down to 19-21, 21-7, 21-14 in 57 minutes at Axiata Arena whereas the Thomas Cup winner Prannoy wins by straight sets beating world number 4 fourth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei by 21-15, 21-7 in just 35 minutes of play.

Now, two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu will face the challenge of her nemesis Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei in the last eight encounters while Prannoy is scheduled to face tough heat from Indonesia’s Jonathan Christie.

Malayasia Open: Sindhu’s comeback story...

Seventh-seeded Indian shuttler who had previously conquered against another Thailand player Chochuwong on Wednesday didn’t have a good start in the match against Chaiwan who reached a thumping win in the first set and surprised Sindhu well.

However, that didn’t work well in the next sets as the world number 7 adapted to the situation quickly and started the more aggressive approach against her to win the next set one-sided with 21-7.

In the 3^rd set, it was Sindhu’s domination again as she clinched the set as well as booked the quarterfinal ticket by beating her 21-14 in the clinical set.

As of now Sindhu, Prannoy, and Parupalli Kashyap are the only Indians that are still in the singles draw of the championship. Kashyap will be scheduled to play against Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn on Thursday.

Later in the day, the seventh-seeded double pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Reddy will also be seen in the action.