New Delhi: Ace India shuttler PV Sindhu continued her winning run at the BWF World Championships 2025 in Paris, with a comfortable victory against Malaysia’s Letshanaa Karupathevan in the Round of 32. Sindhu survived an early scare in the first game to beat Karupathevan 21-19, 21-15 in straight sets to enter the pre-quarters in women’s singles at the tournament.

Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu didn’t have a great start in her Round of 32 clash against the Malaysian as she was trailing behind 12-18 at one stage in the first game. However, the experienced Indian shuttler produced an emphatic comeback to take the first game 21-19 after winning nine points from there, while conceding only one.

The second game was pretty much a lop-sided affair as Sindhu secured an early lead and maintained it throughout to wrap up a straight-sets victory in just 39 minutes. Earlier, Sindhu had defeated Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova in straight sets in the opening round. The Indian had a similar slow start against Karupatheva in the Round of 32 on Wednesday, but raised her game in time to secure a thumping victory.

2019 champion Sindhu reached the pre-quarterfinal of the BWF World Championships for the first time since 2021, where she made it to the quarter-final. Sindhu lost in the second round of the tournament in 2022 and 2023. She remains the only Indian shuttler to have won the World Championships title, having achieved the feat in 2019.

After defeating the Malaysian no.1 on Wednesday, Sindu is set to face another stern test in the Round of 16 as she will be up against world no.2 Wang Zhi Yi of China. Wang is also the reigning China Open champion and is one of the favourites to clinch the women’s singles title at the World Championships 2025.

While Sindhu would be happy to have bagged a straight-set victory after dodging an early scare in the Round of 32 clash, Karupathevan would be disappointed to have missed the opportunity to capitalise after gaining a strong early lead in the first game.