India’s PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy, on Sunday, started their 2024 Paris Olympics campaign winning their respective matches at the La Chapelle Arena in Paris.
Sindhu, who was up against Maldives’ Fathimath Razzaq, did not face any trouble as she cruised to a 21-9, 21-6 straight games victory.
The double-Olympic medallist took her time to get adjusted to the conditions at the start but soon found her rhythm, winning seven points in a row to open up an 11-4 lead at the mid-game interval after being level at 4-4.
There was no looking back from there for Sindhu, who controlled the proceedings throughout the remainder of the match.
Later in the day, men’s singles shuttler Prannoy took down Germany’s Fabian Roth on his Olympic debut.
The 32-year-old Indian struggled at first, but soon found a way to counter the world No 82. Prannoy struggled to counter the drift early on, but managed to open up a 11-10 lead at the first interval.
He soon found himself trailing and changed his gameplan. Prannoy went from playing into Roth’s longer rallies to pushing forward into the net to kill off points as early as possible.
That little change worked wonders as he pocketed the opening game 21-18 from the bad side of the court. Once his nerves were settled, Prannoy dominated the second game right from the start and cruised to win it 21-12 and wrap up the match in 45 minutes.