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China Open 2018: PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth crash out of quarters

India's singles campaign came to an end on Friday in the quarter-finals of the China Open World Tour Super 750.

Fuzhou: Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu yet again struggled to go past China's He Bingjiao and bowed out of the China Open World Tour Super 750 here on Friday.

Third seeded Sindhu, who clinched three silver medals this season -- Commonwealth Games, World Championship and Asian Games -- lost 17-21 21-17 15-21 to the eighth seeded Chinese in the quarterfinal. Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth, on the back of a three-game victory after beating Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto went 21-14, 21-14 down to Chou Tien Chen in just 35 minutes.

It was Indian shuttler's third loss to Bingjiao, who had defeated her at the Indonesia Open and French Open in July and October this year.

Sindhu frittered away a 8-3 advantage early on to lose the opening game but made a roaring comeback in the second before losing the decider after a late charge.

Sindhu had started well to take a 4-1 lead early on before moving to 8-3 but Bingjiao managed to claw back at 9-9. The duo moved neck and neck till 15-15 when the Chinese moved ahead with three straight points. Sindhu made it to 17-18 before Bingjiao pocketed the opening game.

In the second game, Bingjiao surged to 4-2 but Sindhu turned the tables as she moved to 6-5 and then grabbed a 11-7 lead. She kept distance despite the Chinese snapping at her feet.

In the decider, Bingjiao was more sure-footed than Sindhu as she executed her plan well to take a 11-6 advantage at the interval. The Chinese managed to eke out a 15-8 lead before Sindhu produced a late charge to claw back to 15-16.
But Bingjiao didn't give any chance to the Indian after that as she reeled off the remaining points to cement her place in the semifinals.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle with agency inputs )
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