Sindhu overcame long-time rival Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 22-20, 21-23, 21-15 in an absorbing one-hour and 19-minute clash in the women’s singles.

Sen, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, battled valiantly before falling to world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi of China 11-21 22-20 15-21 in in a gripping first round men’s singles contest that lasted one hour and five minutes.

The 23-year-old Sen, returning from a back injury that had ruled him out of a tournament in Malaysia last week, showed remarkable resilience.

Trailing 11-17 in the second game, Sen mounted a spirited comeback, saving a match point and clinching the game 22-20 to force a decider.

However, the momentum proved short lived as Shi reasserted control in the third game to seal the match.

Sindhu and Okuhara engaged in a war of attrition in an error marred match that had plenty of game points and match points.

Sindhu edged a tense first game 22-20, saving a game point and producing attacking shots at clutch moments.

In the second game, Sindhu held a slender two-point lead early on but trailed 7-11 at the mid-game interval. She clawed her way back, earning two match points with a thunderous cross-court smash.

But unforced errors continued to creep in, allowing Okuhara to level at 20-20. The Japanese eventually took the second game 23-21.

The decider followed a familiar pattern of conservative play, with neither of the two taking undue risks.

Sindhu led 11-9 at the break and then found her groove, unleashing a series of winners to surge to 20-12.

Sindhu earned eight match points and she sealed the win by converting the fifth one to book her spot in the round of 16. PTI APA PDS PDS PDS