World champion P. V. Sindhu warmed up for the tougher battles with an easy 21-7, 21-10 victory over Israel’s Ksenia Polikarpova in her opening Group ‘J’ match at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sindhu’s 29-minute on-court ‘workout’ on Sunday saw her break away from 5-5 to win the next 14 points in the first game.
In the second, from 4-3, Sindhu won seven straight points to assert her superiority before converting her fourth match point.
Polikarpova, ranked 58th, was often foxed by Sindhu’s deft placements at the net. The Indian often finished points by setting them up through powerful smashes and forcing feeble responses.
In the second league match on Tuesday, sixth seed Sindhu faces Hong Kong’s Cheung Ngan Yi for a place in the Elimination round.
PTI adds:
"Even though it was an easy first match I didn't take it in an easy way. It wasn't like I wasn't prepared. Every time, it is very important to be focused and be prepared for every single point in every single match," Sindhu said after the match. "It was quite an easy match but I made sure that we had some rallies and I got used to the court."
On her approach to playing a lower-ranked opponent, Sindhu said: "I think it's important to make sure that you play all of your strokes and get used to them."
"All of a sudden if you're playing with a higher-ranked player or a stronger opponent, it's not that you can just play that type of strokes, it's important to get used to the situations also," she added.
