Saarbrücken, 30 October (H.S.): India's leading badminton star P.V. Sindhu produced a commanding performance to advance to the women's singles quarter-finals of the Hylo Open 2026. The second-seeded Indian defeated France's Rosy Octavia Pancasari in straight games, 21-9, 21-6, in their round-of-16 encounter on Thursday. The match lasted less than 30 minutes.

Sindhu will next face Denmark's Amalie Schulz for a place in the semi-finals. The two-time Olympic medallist entered the Super 500 tournament after finishing runner-up at the French Open Super 750. She had lost the final to South Korea's world No. 1 An Se-young.

Meanwhile, India's promising young shuttler Anmol Kharb also staged an impressive comeback to secure her place in the quarter-finals. The 19-year-old overcame higher-ranked Danish opponent Line Christophersen 11-21, 21-18, 25-23 in a closely contested encounter lasting one hour and three minutes.

After conceding the opening game, Kharb regrouped to claim the second and force a decider. She then displayed considerable composure under pressure, edging the deciding game 25-23 to complete a hard-fought victory.

Kharb will now face compatriot Unnati Hooda in the quarter-finals, with a place in the last four at stake.

However, it was the end of the road for Malvika Bansod, who suffered a straight-games defeat in the women's singles round of 16. Canada's Wen Yu Zhang defeated the Indian 21-11, 21-17 to book her place in the quarter-finals.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar