The 30-year-old Hyderabadi had entered the tournament on a high after winning the Japan Open last week, ending a lengthy title drought.
PV Sindhu of India hits a return to Chen Yufei of China during their women's singles round 16 match at the China Open badminton tournament in Changzhou, eastern China's Jiangsu province on July 23, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP)
Changzhou: Indian badminton ace P V Sindhu let slip early advantage to bow out of China Open with a gruelling three-game loss to local favourite and world number four Chen Yufei in the second round here on Thursday. Sindhu lost 21-16 20-22 18-21 in the energy-sapping match that lasted close to one and a half hour. The 30-year-old Hyderabadi had entered the tournament on a high after winning the Japan Open last week, ending a lengthy title drought.
That the match was going to be a closely fought affair was evident in the opening game itself in which Sindhu rallied from 7-13 to be 16-16. The Indian then reeled off five consecutive points to grab the early advantage.
However, it was Chen's turn to pull off a comeback in the second game as Sindhu frittered away four game points. Chen, who is a gold-medallist from Tokyo Olympics in 2021, took the game 22-20, clawing back from a 16-20 position.
The deciding third game also went neck-and-neck for most part before Chen broke away at 17-17 to clinch the victory.
( Source : PTI )
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