Indian badminton star P V Sindhu's Indonesia Open campaign came to a premature end on Wednesday, May 5. In a surprising first-round defeat, Sindhu fell to Hsu Wen-chi of Chinese Taipei. This unexpected loss at the prestigious BWF Super 1000 tournament marks a setback for the two-time Olympic medalist and former world champion. The tightly contested women's singles match saw Sindhu lose 15-21, 21-15, 14-21. Notably, this was the first time Sindhu had been defeated by her Taiwanese opponent.
Sindhu out of Indonesia Open
Indian badminton star PV Sindhu's recent run in the BWF World Tour hasn't gone according to plan. Despite a strong showing at the Thailand Open where she secured a runner-up finish, her Indonesia Open campaign ended abruptly with a first-round defeat to Hsu Wen-chi of Chinese Taipei. The match was a close encounter, lasting over an hour, but ultimately Sindhu fell short, adding to the disappointment of her earlier exit at the Singapore Open.
Prior to the Indonesia Open, Sindhu faced another familiar foe in the Singapore Open - Carolina Marin, the Spaniard who bested her in the Rio Olympics final. While Sindhu managed to win the first game, Marin displayed her fighting spirit, clawing back to win the match in three sets (21-13, 11-21, 20-22) after a thrilling battle that lasted an hour and eight minutes.
Leading 18-15 in the final game, Sindhu seemed on the verge of victory. However, Carolina Marin clawed her way back, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory for Sindhu in a thrilling three-set encounter.
Earlier, Indian badminton enjoyed a successful day at the Indonesia Open on Tuesday, Tuesday, with both Priyanshu Rajawat and Lakshya Sen securing impressive victories to advance to the second round.
Rajawat upsets Prannoy
World No. 34 Priyanshu Rajawat caused a major upset by defeating his fellow Indian HS Prannoy, ranked 10th in the world for men's singles. Rajawat dominated the match, winning in straight sets (21-17, 21-12) in a quick 39 minutes. This marked the first time Rajawat had beaten Prannoy in their four encounters. He'll now face a tough challenge in the next round against the reigning world champion, Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand.
Sen cruises past Tsuneyama
Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen, who will join Prannoy in representing India at the Paris 2024 Olympics, had a comfortable outing in his first-round match. Sen made light work of Japan's Kenta Tsuneyama, ranked 29th, winning convincingly in straight sets (21-12, 21-17) within 40 minutes. He'll face another Japanese opponent in the next round, Kenta Nishimoto.
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