NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- India's Ayush Shetty and P. V. Sindhu advanced to the last 16 at the BWF World Championships on Wednesday, keeping the host nation's hopes alive, while Lakshya Sen and Unnati Hooda were knocked out.
Shetty, who stunned defending champion and world No. 1 Shi Yuqi of China in the opening round, continued his impressive run by beating Sri Lanka's Dumindu Abeywickrama to reach the men's singles last 16. The 21-year-old Indian will next face Indonesia's Alwi Farhan.
The clash will renew a rivalry dating back to the 2023 BWF World Junior Championships. Farhan and Shetty are the same age, and Farhan beat Shetty in the semifinals in Spokane before going on to become world junior champion, while Shetty took bronze. The pair have since emerged as two of the leading young players in men's singles.
Shetty has already produced one of the biggest upsets of the championships, defeating Shi 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 in the opening round. It was Shetty's first victory over the Chinese world No. 1 after three previous defeats.
Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist and former world champion, defeated Canada's Zhang Wenyu 21-16, 21-17 to reach the women's singles last 16. The 31-year-old Indian remains one of the home crowd's biggest hopes at the championships.
Sen, seeded 14th, was beaten by 18-year-old American Garret Tan, while Hooda lost to Canada's Michelle Li in the women's singles. Tan's victory was one of the notable upsets of the day.
India's men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the last 16 without taking the court after their Scottish opponents withdrew. Mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also progressed with a straight-games victory.
In another men's singles result, Denmark's Rasmus Gemke defeated Chinese Taipei's Lin Chun-yi in three games, ending the All England champion's campaign. ■
