PV Sindhu Defeated In Pre-quarterfinals, Out Of Indonesia Masters

World champion shuttler PV Sindhu lost to Sayaka Takahashi of Japan in a closely-fought women's singles contest at Jakarta. The defeat draws the curtain on Indian challenge in the Indonesia Masters. Sindhu frittered away a one-game lead to lose 21-16, 16-21, 19-21 in a thrilling pre-quarterfinal match that lasted one hour and six minutes, as per a report published by Times of India. The Japanese had also defeated Saina Nehwal in the second round.

Sindhu entered into the second round after a hard-earned victory over Japan's Aya Ohori on Wednesday. After world championships bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth, Kidambi Srikanth and Sourabh Verma crashed out of the tournament, she was India’s last hope for remaining in the tournament. With Sindhu's defeat this Thursday, the country's campaign in the BWF Super 500 Tournament came to an end. Before Thursday's match, world number six Sindhu had a 4-2 head-to-head record against the Japanese who had the fourteenth global rank.

After world championships bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth, Kidambi Srikanth and Sourabh Verma crashed out of the tournament, she was India’s last hope for remaining in the tournament.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• PV Sindhu lost to Sayaka Takahashi in the women's singles contest
• The defeat in the pre-quarterfinal match means an end of the country's campaign in the tournament
• Sindhu had a one-game lead with scores 21-16, 16-21, 19-21
• The match lasted for one hour and six minutes

Read Also: PV Sindhu Bags The Sportstar Of The Year Award At Aces 2020

Before Thursday's match, world number six Sindhu had a 4-2 head-to-head record against the Japanese who has fourteenth global rank.

Indians made early exits in the Malaysian Masters last week and continued their poor form in this tournament as well. While none of the men's singles players could make it after the second round, Sindhu and Nehwal reached the quarterfinals in Kuala Lumpur.

PV Sindhu began well, breaking away 11-6 in the first game. The Japanese, however, bridged the gap and took the score to 11-12. But Sindhu did not let her opponent get away easily and took the lead again dragging the score line to 16-15. She effortlessly took the last five points, registering the first game in her name. Nevertheless, she did not give her best performance in the second game and lost 16-21 to Takahashi. In the third game, Sayaka straightaway took a 7-0 lead but Sindhu fought back to reduce the gap to 4-8. The Indian could not sustain the tempo as she trailed 6-15. Although she tried midway to get the lead back, she lost the third one as well, despite continued efforts to change the game.

Although she tried midway to get the lead back, she lost the third one as well, despite continued efforts to change the game.

The decider was a very close contest with Takahashi initially leading with 3-0 which was brought to 3-3 by Sindhu. Both the players saw a see-saw battle as the scoreboard showed 15-15 followed by 10-10. This continued till 18-18, after which the Japanese broke away to be at 20-18. Sindhu saved one match point but the Japanese took the next to enter the semi-finals.

Read Also: Eyes Fixed On Tokyo Gold, Top Ranking And All England Title: PV Sindhu

Saavriti is an intern with SheThePeople.TV