India’s campaign came to a premature end as double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu crashed out in the pre-quarterfinals of the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 badminton tournament on Thursday. World No. 20 Sindhu was the lone Indian left in contention after the exits of Lakshya Sen and the women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand.
Sindhu squandered a game lead to lose 21-17, 16-21, 17-21 against Canada’s Michelle Li, who is ranked 23rd in the world. The women’s singles match lasted one hour and 15 minutes, with the two shuttlers engaged in a closely contested battle throughout.
In the first game, it was neck-and-neck between the two players before Sindhu took a marginal 11-8 lead. From there, she kept her nose just ahead to take an early advantage. However, Li came out attacking in the second game, racing to an 8-3 lead. Despite Sindhu’s efforts to claw back, reaching a 16-16 scoreline, Li surged ahead, winning five straight points to level the contest.
The decider saw a close battle between the two players until the score reached 17-17. At that point, Li forced the pace, claiming four straight points to close out the match. Sindhu’s unforced errors also played a role in her defeat.
