BWF China Open | PV Sindhu crashes out after losing in quarters
India’s hope of a medal, in the ongoing China Open, ended as Gao Fangjie handed PV Sindhu a 21-11, 21-10 defeat in the quarter-finals today. In yesterday’s games, Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy had been ousted after losing their respective pre-quarters matches, a week after winning the National titles.
During the match, Sindhu didn’t like a 100% as the 19-year-old Fangjie took 38 minutes to show the Indian exit door from the tournament. Sindhu opened the first game with a 2-0 lead but the Chinese teenager fought back and turned the tables at 4-3. Sindhu played a few smart drops and smashes to collect points but Fangjie entered the break with two points lead. After the mid-game break, the 19-year-old just raced away as she gathered 10 of the next 12 points to win the opening game.
The second game appeared to be a repeat of the first one as Sindhu found it difficult to read Fangjie’s deceptive strokes. The Indian's movements lacked her usual smoothness which also helped her opponent reach 11-6 at the time of the interval. The game saw many unforced errors from Sindhu and she continued to lag behind after the break. The Chinese took the full advantage of that and moved to a massive 20-9 lead to bring up match point. The Indian saved one point but it was not enough as Fangjie sealed the game at the next opportunity.
