PV Sindhu knocked out of China Open in pre-quarterfinal

Double Olympic medalist P.V. Sindhu has been eliminated from the China Open badminton tournament in Changzhou, falling to China's Chen Yufei in a three-game women's singles pre-quarterfinal match on Thursday, July 23. The defeat ends Sindhu's campaign just one week after she claimed the Japan Open title.

Sindhu, the 2016 China Open champion, lost the round of 16 contest 16-21, 22-20, 21-18 in a closely fought battle. The match saw significant momentum shifts, with the Indian shuttler fighting back from a deficit in the first game to secure it, and later earning four match points in the second. Chen, the fourth seed and Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist, staged a remarkable comeback to edge the second game and force a decider, where she maintained control to seal victory and advance to the quarterfinals.

The loss to Chen narrows Sindhu's head-to-head record against the Chinese star, who now holds a slight advantage in their meetings. Sindhu had entered the match with confidence, having defeated Chen in straight games during the semifinals of the Japan Open the previous week.

Sindhu's path to the pre-quarterfinals included a hard-fought victory over fellow Indian Unnati Hooda in the...