Star shuttler PV Sindhu expectedly beat Rituparna Das on Wednesday, 5 February even as her side Hyderabad Hunters got knocked out of the Premier Badminton League (PBL).
Sindhu recorded an easy 15-7, 15-8 win over Das, representing Pune Aces at the GMC Balayogi Sats Indoor Stadium.
Having upset world No 14 Beiwen Zhang in her previous match, Das, ranked 100, came into this match with a lot of confidence but the world champion Sindhu posed a very different challenge.
The Rio Olympic silver medallist was in no mood to relent as she built a big lead of 8-3, banking on her aggression and speed.
Das struggled to counter the pace at which Sindhu was hitting and conceded the first game 7-15.
The lower-ranked shuttler gave a better account of herself in the second game as she kept Sindhu moving to every part of the court. Her strokeplay helped her remain on par with her highly accomplished opponent till 6-6.
Sindhu did just enough to lift her game from thereon and completed a strong win to end her PBL campaign on a high.
In an engrossing battle between India's best youngsters, PBL debutant Mithun Manjunath prevailed 15-11, 11-15, 15-13 against Hyderabad Trump Priyanshu Rajawat.
Earlier, Pune's Chirag Shetty and Hendra Setiawan bounced back from a loss to secure a commanding 15-12, 15-9 win against Ben Lane and Sean Vendy.
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