Rio Olympics 2016 Badminton Highlights: PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth Enter Quarter-Finals
PV Sindhu beat Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying 21-13, 21-15 in the pre-quarterfinals of the badminton competition in Rio Olympics 2016. Earlier, India's Kidambi Srikanth entered the quarter-finals of men's singles. Catch badminton highlights here.
PV Sindhu kept India's hopes of an Olympics medal alive as she advanced to the quarter-final in women's singles badminton event with an easy 21-13, 21-15 win over Chinese Taipei's Tai Tsu Ying. Kidambi Srikanth has already sealed his place in the men's singles quarter-finals. Catch badminton highlights here. (SCHEDULE | MEDAL TALLY)
02:58 IST: PV Sindhu will be up against China's Wang Yihan in the quarter-final which takes place on Wednesday. Yihan is currently World No 2 and reigning Olympic silver medallist. That's all for today. Good Night!
02:46 IST: Winner! P V Sindhu seals quarter-final berth with a 21-15 win in the second game. Both the players exchange greetings as spectators applaud for a brilliant match.
02:44 IST: Ying is making Sindhu toil hard for a win, and makes it 15-20.
02:43 IST: It's 20-12 for Sindhu and just a point away from the quarter-final stage.
02:42 IST: A brilliant drop shot as Sindhu makes it 18-12, before fetching another point. Meanwhile, World No 2 Wang Yihan spotted watching PV Sindhu's match. She will face the winner of this encounter in the quarter-final.
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02:40 IST: It's 17-11 for Sindhu and she is poised to wrap up the proceedings as quickly as possible.
02:39 IST: Ying comes back strongly as she makes the scoreline 11-15, but a missed return fetches Sindhu another point. The scoreline reads 16-11 in India's favour.
02:37 IST: Ying manages to grab a point and is trying to narrow the points gap, but still trails 10-15.
02:35 IST: Sindhu is putting the game beyond Ying's reach and the crowd chants are growing louder. The scoreline reads 15-7.
02:31 IST: The scoreline is in favour of Sindhu as she goes 11-6 up in the second game.
02:27 IST: Sindhu's dominance can be gauged from the fact that she took just 19 minutes to wrap the first game. However, Ying has come back strongly to level the scores 6-6. But her rival has the last laugh, grabbing two more points to go 8-6 up.
02:26 IST: Ying levels score 3-3 but a nervous shot spoils the efforts as Sindhu goes 5-3 up in the second game. She has made the match a one-sided affair so far.
02:24 IST: Sindhu serves for Game 2 and wins the first point after Ying fails to return a slower one from her. The Indian star accumulates two more points to go 3-1 up.
02:21 IST: And Sindhu takes the first game 21-13. The Indian badminton star pumps her fists in excitement, and will be raring to complete the second game quickly.
02:19 IST: Ying has come back strongly after the mini-drinks break, however in-form Sindhu goes up further. The scoreline reads 19-13.
02:16 IST: Sindhu yells in excitement as she continues to amass her lead over Ying. The scoreline reads 13-11.
02:15 IST: Ying comes back strongly and gains two quick points against Sindhu.
02:13 IST: Loud cheer in the court as Sindhu makes it 12-7. Ying tries hard but it seems that her opponent is in no mood to squander a lead.
02:11 IST: Sindhu has imposed a 10-6 lead over Ying, and will look forward to quickly finish the first game. After Saina Nehwal's ouster, India is looking up to her for a medal.
02:10 IST: Sindhu makes it 8-6 and is going strong against her rival. Ying has no answers to her powerful strokes as she surrenders one more point to the Indian badminton star.
02:08 IST: Two more points for Sindhu as she goes 7-5 against Ying. The latter bounces back and makes the scoreline 6-7.
02:07 IST: Indian coach Pullela Gopichand applauds as Sindhu continues her attack against Ying. The scores are levelled 5-5 in the first game.
02:06 IST: Sindhu does not stop here and quickly imposes a 3-1 lead over her opponent. But Ying is not ready to give in and makes it 3-3.
02:04 IST: The action begins. Ying gains the first point of the game, only for Sindhu to come back and level the scores.
02:01 IST: Both the players have arrived at the court and are warming up for what is expected to be a nerve-wracking encounter.
01:52 IST: PV Sindhu will face Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying in the women's singles Round of 16 match. Live action will begin shortly.
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23:00 IST: Towards the end of the day, China's Yuanting Tang and Yang Yu won their women's doubles quarter-final match against Indonesia's Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Greysia Polii 21-11,21-14.
22:30 IST: The Danish pair of Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter Juhl beat South Korea's Chang Ye Na and Lee So Hee 28-26,18-21,21-15.
21:45 IST: Besides this, Tien Chen Chou of Chinese Taipei edged past Hong Kong's Yun Hu in another men's singles Round of 16 match.
21:30 IST: Wan-Ho Son of South Korea defeated Hong Kong's Angus Ng Ka Long 23-21,21-17 in the men's singles Round of 16.
21:00 IST: In men's doubles quarterfinals, the Malaysia's V Shem Goh and Kiong Wee Tan have beaten the South Korean duo of  Yong Dae Lee and Yeon Seong Yoo 17-21, 21-18, 21-19.
20:00 IST: Lalita Babar has finished 10th in the women's 3000m steeplechase final.
19:45 IST: Meanwhile, proceedings have begun in the women's 3000m steeplechase. India's Lalita Babar is in action.
19:14 IST: A thrilling win for the Indian shuttler in his pre-quarterfinal match. He will now face China's Lin Dan in the quarterfinals.
19:10 IST: That's it! Srikanth wins the second game 21-19 to wrap up the match in straight games, 21-19, 21-19.
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19:09 IST: Srikanth wins three points in a row to lead 20-18.
19:08 IST: A bad net return sees Jorgensen take a 18-17 lead.
19:07 IST: Srikanth bridges the gap in the 2nd game. He levels it up at 17-17.
19:05 IST: Jorgensen leads 17-14. Srikanth seems to be tiring.
19:04 IST: Jorgensen leads 15-13.
19:01 IST: It's turning out to be a humdinger with leads changing frequently. It's 13-13 now.
19:00 IST: It's Jorgensen who makes another comeback. He wins the next two points to lead 12-11.
18:58 IST: Srikanth levels 10-10. He wins the next point to move 11-10 ahead.
18:57 IST: Jorgensen has managed to erase a three-point deficit to lead 10-8. He has won five straight points.
18:55 IST: Srikanth leads Jorgensen 8-6 in 2nd game. He won the 1st game 21-19.
18:52 IST: Srikanth keeps the momentum going in the second game. He takes a 6-3 lead.
18:50 IST: Srikanth gives away an early 2-0 lead in the second game. He wins the next two points to level it up at 2-2.
18:48 IST: Advantage Kidambi Srikanth, as he takes the first game 21-19 vs Jan Jorgensen.
18:45 IST: Kidambi leads Jorgensen 20-18 in the first game. This is heading for a tense end.
18:44 IST: The 9th seed India leads Jorgensen 18-17 in the first game. This is going to the wire!
18:41 IST: Kidambi takes a two-point lead, but makes an unforced error immediately that sees him keep a 15-14 lead. He wins the next point to make it 16-14.
18:39 IST: This is turning out to be a very close affair. Kidambi is level 13-13 with Jorgensen at present.
18:36 IST: The Indian shuttler has been attacking Jorgensen's serve. He is leading 11-10.
18:34 IST: Kidambi is showing some attacking intent here. He is 8-7 up against Jorgensen.
18:30 IST: Kidambi strikes back straights away with two straight points. It's 4-4 at the moment.
18:27 IST: Kidambi drops the first two points, but wins the next. Jorgensen has begun well. He has a 3-2 lead now.
18:00 IST: Kidambi Srikanth's match has been further delayed as the ongoing women's doubles match on the same court has gone to a third and deciding game.
17:55 IST: The Malaysian duo of Moon Hoo and Wei Woon are leading the second game of their match 18-16, having lost the first game. If they take this to a deciding game, Kidambi Srikanth's pre-quarterfinal match will be further delayed.
17:38 IST: Kidambi Srikanth's match will start after the completion of the ongoing women's doubles quarterfinal match between Japan's Misaki Matsutomi and Ayaka Takahashi and Malaysia's Vivian Kah Moon Hoo and Khe Wei Woon.
17:30 IST: Can Kidambi Srikanth help lift Indian spirits after Saina Nehwal's shocking ouster yesterday? He has a 1-2 win-loss record against Jan Jorgensen.
17:20 IST: Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the badminton action from Rio Olympics 2016, where two Indians will be in action today in the singles events.
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Seeded ninth in the men's singles competition, Srikanth will be up against Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark at the RioCentro Pavilion from 5:30 PM IST. Jorgensen is the tournament's fifth seed.
Srikanth has been in good touch at Rio. He won both his group matches without losing a game. Jorgensen, who also won his group matches without dropping a game, has a 2-1 win-loss record against Srikanth.
If Srikanth wins today's match, he will run into third seed and defending champion Lin Dan of China. Lin Dan has received a bye in the round of last-16.
Saina's injury-hampered loss to unseeded Ukrainian Maria Ulitina at the group stage has left India's hopes on PV Sindhu.
Nehwal, who took bronze in London to become her country's first medallist in the sport, slumped to a 21-18 21-19 defeat by world number 61 Ulitina.
Sindhu, ninth seed in Rio, faces Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei for a berth in the quarters. Ying is the eighth seed in the Olympics. The match will be played at 2 AM (IST) on Tuesday.
The winner of the Sindhu versus Ying match faces second seed Chinese Wang Yihan, who has received a bye in the pre-quarters.
Ying has a 4-2 win-loss record against Sindhu. Ying has been good form in Rio, winning both her group matches without dropping a game.
After a smooth opener, Sindhu had to fight back from a game down to beat Canada's Michelle Li 19-21, 21-15, 21-17 in her second group match.