Ace Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth made their into the semi-finals of the Korea Open Super 500 badminton tournament.
With contrasting victories in the women’s single and men’s singles events respectively. While Srikanth was made to work hard by local boy Son Wan Ho in a three-game match, Sindhu had it easy against Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand.
In a battle between two former world number ones, it was Srikanth who rode on his power and precision to outwit Son Wan Ho 21-12 18-21 21-12 in the quarterfinal match that lasted just over an hour.
Srikanth had a 4-7 record against the Korean, having lost to him in last three occasions.
However, the Indian played better badminton on Friday to come up trumps against an opponent, who is coming back to international badminton after a two-year hiatus.
The Indian, seeded fifth, will next face the winner of the match between Thailand’s eighth seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn and third seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia.
Two-time Olympics silver medalist Sindhu, however, won her quarterfinal against Busanan in straight games. Sindhu, who was trailing 2-5 in the first game, made strong comeback with a string of winners.
From a 13-10, Sindhu won straight eight points to grab the first game.
The world number 7 shuttler displayed similar dominance in the second game also to win 21-16 and finish the encounter in 43 minutes.