PV Sindhu’s impressive run at the BWF China Open Super 1000 came to an end after she lost a thrilling three-game contest to home favourite and fourth seed Chen Yu Fei in the women’s singles pre-quarterfinals on Thursday.
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PV Sindhu’s impressive run at the BWF China Open Super 1000 came to an end after she lost a thrilling three-game contest to home favourite and fourth seed Chen Yu Fei in the women’s singles pre-quarterfinals on Thursday.
Sindhu went down 21-16, 20-22, 18-21 in a marathon energy-sapping encounter that lasted over an hour. The 30-year-old had arrived in China full of confidence after ending her title drought by winning the Japan Open last week.
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Sindhu also had the psychological edge over Chen, having defeated the former Olympic champion in the Japan Open semifinals after the Chinese player retired hurt.
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The Indian made a bright start, taking the opening game 21-16 with some aggressive shot-making and controlled rallies. She looked on course for another victory over Chen when she raced to a 20-16 lead in the second game, earning four match points.
However, the Chinese star produced a remarkable comeback, winning six consecutive points to snatch the game 22-20 and force a decider.
The third game remained evenly contested, with the scores locked at 17-17. Chen then raised her level once again, claiming the next three points to earn three match points. Sindhu saved one of them but could not prevent Chen from sealing the match 21-18 and booking her place in the quarterfinals.
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