PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth lose in China Open quarters

Third seeded Indian PV Sindhu crashed out of the China Open badminton tournament after losing to local girl He Bingjiao in the quarter-final. While India’s lone hope in men’s singles Kidambi Srikanth too went down in the last 8 in straight games 14-21, 14-21 to Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen.

Sindhu, who was crowned champion of the tournament in 2016, lost to the eighth seeded player in three games in a tough encounter.

The Rio Olympics silver medallist was put on the back foot early by her Chinese opponent as she lost the first game 17-21. The Hyderabad girl though made a comeback in the match and evened things out by taking the second game 21-17.

Bingjiao though hit her strides early in the decider and won the game 21-15 to advance to the semi-finals.

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.

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.

(With PTI inputs)