It was over in 29 minutes; the first game took 14 while the second lasted a minute longer. PV Sindhu celebrated International Women's Day without breaking much sweat, dominating her unseeded Danish opponent Mette Poulsen throughout the game.
Sluggish from the start, the left-handed Poulsen was never present in the contest by her own admission. Slow on her feet, stranded many times mid-court, hitting shots wide or into the net, failing to lengthen rallies, struggling to anticipate Sindhu's gameplan - Poulsen was simply out of sorts on Wednesday.
Sindhu, on her part, maintained percentage play throughout the match. She kept the shuttle busy at the net, playing with soft hands and when she realized Pouslen was not moving much, she started making use of the wide open spaces. In six minutes, Sindhu had already gained the upper hand, leading 11-6 at the first interval.
Sindhu was happy to allow Poulsen to make mistakes while she carried on building the lead. Many times in a rally, the Dane was in a hurry to finish the point off, only to err by either hitting into the net or hitting wide on the flanks. The rallies barely touched the ten-stroke mark.
For Poulsen to bounce back, it was mandatory that she created plays, dribbled with Sindhu at the net and then pushed the Indian to the back court to try and attack. Poulsen could not do any of that.
It is hard to tell whether such a smooth stride into the pre-quarterfinals would have helped Sindhu as she aims to go deeper into the tournament.
With her right hamstring taped, Sindhu will be cautious of being stretched too far, but her net play was barely tested on Wednesday. A tougher battle awaits when she will likely meet the top seed Tai Tzu Ying in the quarterfinals. Although Ying won in straight games earlier in the day, she committed far too many unforced errors for her liking against Thailand's Nitchaon Jindapol.
Sindhu remained unperturbed by what was to come, saying her strategy would obviously change according to the opponent.
"In one way, it is very good. We also get court practice," she said after the victory. "From the start I took the lead. I maintained that lead. I did not take it easy, this match."
Asked whether Poulsen had made things simpler for her, Sindhu agreed with that assessment. "She made many mistakes, but I was getting her caught at the back of the court. She was hitting a lot of strokes outside and into the net. "
Poulsen was embarrassed herself. "Too many mistakes today," is how she summed up her performance. "I wasn't that confident in this hall, a little bit unsure, especially on the high lifts. I had to find a way out of her serve, but too many easy mistakes. She dominated definitely. My style is to dominate, too. I couldn't find the right length. I had too many opportunities to make some good angles."