P V Sindhu Exits China Open After Tough Battle Against Chen Yufei
Sindhu's Challenging Exit from the China Open
Indian badminton star P V Sindhu faced a tough defeat in the second round of the China Open, losing to local favorite and world No. 4 Chen Yufei in a demanding three-game match on Thursday.
Both Ayush Shetty and Lakshya Sen also saw their tournament journeys come to an end after losing their respective second-round matches in men's singles.
Lakshya was defeated in straight games by Canada's Victor Lai with scores of 19-21, 11-21, while Ayush experienced a narrow loss to Ireland's Nhat Nguyen, falling 21-15, 13-21, 20-22 after leading 19-15 in the final game.
Sindhu's match lasted nearly one and a half hours, concluding with scores of 21-16, 20-22, 18-21. The 30-year-old from Hyderabad entered the tournament with momentum after clinching the Japan Open title the previous week, breaking a long title drought.
Post-match, Sindhu expressed her frustration regarding the insufficient recovery time between matches, using social media to voice her concerns about the scheduling.
The competitive nature of the match was evident from the start, with Sindhu overcoming a 7-13 deficit to tie the score at 16-16.
She then surged ahead, scoring five consecutive points to take the lead.
However, in the second game, Chen made a comeback, capitalizing on Sindhu's missed four game points to win 22-20 after trailing 16-20. The final game was closely contested until Chen pulled ahead from a 17-17 tie to secure her victory.
Sindhu had only 16 hours to prepare for her match against Chen, while the Chinese player had over a day to recover, which significantly impacted their performance.
Sindhu remarked on social media, "About 16 hours for me between matches. 24+ hours for my dear friend Chen tomorrow after having a full day off before facing me today."
Chen, the fourth seed, will advance to face seventh seed Ratchanok Intanon from Thailand in the quarterfinals on Friday, benefiting from a full day's rest before the match.
Sindhu pointed out the disparity in recovery time, stating, "Lovely to see recovery being given the importance it deserves. Funny how schedules have a way of taking care of recovery. I only wish they took care of everyone the same way."