India's ace shuttler PV Sindhu has been knocked out of the BWF World Championships after a heartbreaking defeat in the quarterfinal in Paris on Friday, August 29. In a closely contested clash, Sindhu went down fighting against Indonesia's Putri Kusuma Wardani. The World no.9 got the better of Sindhu with a scoreline of 21-14, 13-21, 21-16.
PV Sindhu's campaign ends at BWF World Championships
Despite being just one win away from securing her sixth medal at the World Championships, the Indian badminton star was unable to overcome the challenge posed by the Indonesian.
Sindhu had a slow start and quickly fell behind, trailing 11-7 at the interval before losing the first game. She mounted a comeback in the second game, using her impressive reach to cover the court effectively. This, combined with several unforced errors from her opponent, Putri Kusuma Wardani, forced the match into a decisive third game.
The final game was a tight contest, with neither player giving much ground. Sindhu managed to keep the score close, ensuring Wardani never led by more than three points for most of the game. However, while trailing 17-16, Sindhu conceded four consecutive points, which allowed Putri Kusuma Wardani to close out the match after a tough battle that lasted an hour and four minutes. This loss marks Sindhu’s third defeat in five matches against Wardani. Had she won, Sindhu would have secured her sixth BWF World Championships medal, surpassing the record for most women's singles medals, a record she currently shares with Zhang Ning.
Meanwhile, in the mixed doubles quarterfinals, the Indian pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto were eliminated after a 21-15, 21-13 defeat to Malaysia's Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, who were the fourth seeds. Despite getting off to a strong start and taking an 8-3 lead in the first game, the Indian duo quickly lost their momentum and were defeated in just 37 minutes.
Looking ahead, India's men's doubles team, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who are the ninth seeds, are scheduled to compete later in the day. They will face a challenging match against Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, the second seeds and two-time Olympic bronze medalists.