Sindhu overcomes slow start, enters 2nd round
The 2019 world champion beats Bulgaria’s Nalbantova in the first round of the Paris World Championships
Walking into the Adidas Arena on Tuesday, PV Sindhu didn’t know what to expect in her BWF World Championships opener against Bulgarian Kaloyana Nalbantova. Ranked No.69 in the world, the 19-year-old is a relatively unknown entity on the circuit who has just started playing at the senior level, coming from a country with no pedigree in badminton.
But what transpired in the next few minutes will ensure Sindhu remembers her teenaged opponent for some time to come. At 5 feet 9 inches – almost as tall as Sindhu – Nalbantova unleashed excellent shots against the former world champion as she threatened to take the opening game off Sindhu. However, experience came into play as Sindhu saved two game points before winning 23-21, 21-6 in Paris.
A two-time European junior champion, Nalbantova used the element of surprise to rattle Sindhu at the start to go 4-0 up. The Bulgarian was quick off the blocks, attacking Sindhu’s serve and using her height to smash her way to a 12-7 lead against a player who has dominated the tournament in the past decade with five medals, including a gold (2019).
It took Sindhu some time but she slowly started to find her game and rhythm. Body smashes, quick attacks at the net and a couple of feisty ‘come ons’ later, Sindhu had swung the game to win seven points on the trot and lead 14-12.
But the young Bulgarian wasn’t giving up, especially after noticing that she could be the bully on court. In a game of fine margins, the athletic and unafraid Nalbantova went for her shots. She was calm despite her opponent’s stature, her own inexperience, and the occasion. She stretched the world No.15, forcing Sindhu to earn her points.
The contest remained tight with the two trading serves regularly and Sindhu making errors that have marred her game of late. The same errors handed the Bulgarian two game points (20-19 and 21-20).
But Nalbantova’s lack of experience was visible as the teenager tried to create opportunities that weren’t there. In her eagerness to take a game off a two-time Olympic medallist, she took risks which forced her to make errors.
Sindhu, backed by coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama, used all her experience to save both the game points before winning three consecutive points to survive the first game.
“Keep up the speed, push her, try to move a little bit and play cross,” Irwansyah instructed at the exchange of ends.
Despite leading 85% of the opening game, Nalbantova was now trailing. She was understandably deflated in the second game that saw a total shift. With newfound confidence, Sindhu became the aggressor, giving her opponent no room to go for strokes.
From 6-5, Sindhu went on the rampage, winning 14 successive points to reach match point. Nalbantova saved one but Sindhu’s down-the-line smash was enough to close out the 39-minute contest.
“The second game was quite easy because I just went with the flow, but the first game was very important where it was tricky for me to understand. But once I understood the court I was quite there playing my game,” the 2019 world champion said.
“The first game in the tournament, first match, it definitely took me some time to get used to it (conditions). It took some time to actually get adjusted, but after 11 points I was on track where I was ready for every point and knew where it was going.”
Confidence has eluded Sindhu for quite some time now. Having last reached a quarter-final in January, the 30-year-old has a dismal 7-12 win-loss record in 2025. She will hope to build on the momentum in Round 2 where she will take on Malaysia’s Karupathevan Letshanaa.
Prannoy in Rd 2
HS Prannoy has also had a pretty miserable 2025, not even reaching a quarter-final. But unlike Sindhu, the world No.34 had a pretty straightforward victory against Joakim Oldorff, beating the Finn 21-18, 21-15 in a 47-minute men’s singles first round.
The only Indian to medal at the last World Championships in 2023 when he won bronze after ousting the then reigning champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, the shuttler from Kerala will need to beat another Dane if he wants to advance -- world No.2 Anders Antonsen.
With a 2-2 record, it’s not as if Prannoy can’t beat the second seed but the last time he defeated the Dane was in 2018. Antonsen has won their last two contests in straight games.
