China Open 2019: PV Sindhu Advances After Easy Win Over Li Xuerui

World champion PV Sindhu sailed into the pre-quarterfinals with a convincing win over former Olympic gold-medallist Li Xuerui in the China Open Super 1000 tournament on Wednesday. India's top shuttler Sindhu beat Li Xuerui 21-18 21-12 in just 34 minutes of action. Replicating her world championship form, the Olympic silver-medallist produced another strong performance to get the better of the currently 20th-ranked Chinese, who entered the match with a 3-3 record against the Indian.

However, India's Saina Nehwal crashed out of the tournament earlier. Saina made an early exit after losing to Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the women's singles.

The London Olympics bronze-medallist lost 10-21 17-21 at the hands of the World No.19 Ongbamrungphan in a match that lasted for 44 minutes at the Olympic Sports Center Xincheng Gymnasium. It was the former world number one's second successive loss to the Thai player.

In other matches of the day featuring Indian shuttlers, B Sai Praneeth defeated Thailand's Suppanyu Avihingsanon 21-19 21-23 21-14 to make the next round of the men's singles event. The duo of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N. Sikki Reddy lost to Germany's Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Herttrich 12-21 21-23.