India’s badminton star P. V. Sindhu made a commanding start to her Hylo Open 2026 campaign, securing a comfortable straight-game victory over the UAE’s Prakriti Bharath to advance to the women’s singles Round of 16 in Saarbrücken, Germany, on Wednesday.
The second-seeded Indian needed just 28 minutes to overcome her opponent 21-10, 21-10, continuing her impressive run of form following a strong performance at the French Open.
Sindhu controlled the contest from the beginning, giving Bharath little opportunity to challenge her dominance. The two-time Olympic medallist maintained her advantage throughout the opening game before wrapping it up 21-10.
The second game followed a similar pattern, with Sindhu keeping the pressure on her opponent and comfortably sealing another 21-10 win to book her place in the next round.
The convincing result will provide another confidence boost for the Indian shuttler, who has arrived at the Super 500 tournament after an encouraging campaign at the French Open Super 750.
Sindhu finished as the runner-up at the French Open, where she reached the final before losing to World No. 1 An Se-young.
Although she missed out on the title, her performance in France highlighted her competitive form heading into the Hylo Open.
The Indian star will now face France’s Rosy Oktavia Pancasari in the Round of 16 as she looks to extend her winning momentum and move closer to another deep tournament run.
While Sindhu enjoyed a comfortable opening-round victory, fellow Indian Ashmita Chaliha endured a disappointing exit from the competition.
Ashmita suffered a three-game defeat against Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova, going down 21-18, 12-21, 8-21 in a match lasting 54 minutes.
The Indian began brightly and claimed the opening game 21-18, putting herself in a promising position to progress.
However, Nalbantova fought back strongly in the second game, winning 21-12 to force a decider.
The Bulgarian then maintained her momentum in the final game, dominating proceedings to take it 21-8 and complete the comeback victory.
The result brought an early end to Ashmita’s Hylo Open campaign, despite her impressive showing at the French Open.
At that tournament, Ashmita had reached the quarterfinals after registering a notable victory over Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi.
With Ashmita eliminated, attention now turns to Sindhu as the second seed prepares for her next challenge against Pancasari, hoping to build on her recent French Open success and continue her pursuit of the Hylo Open title.
