PV Sindhu’s quest for sixth World Championships medal ends in quarterfinal

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Sindhu and Wardani were locked 2-2 in their Head-to-Head. (AP Photo)

PV Sindhu’s quest for a sixth badminton World Championships medal has ended with a quarterfinal defeat to Indonesian 9th seed Putri Kusuma Wardani. Sindhu had vanquished world No 2 Wang Zhi Yi on her way to the quarterfinal clash in Paris and while she dominated the second game on Friday, it wasn’t to be for the double Olympic medallist as she lost 14-21, 21-13, 16-21.

Sindhu was off to a slow start and Wardani pulled away in the first game after the two players were level at 6-6. The two players went into the mid-game interval with the Indonesian leading 11-7. Sindhu struggled to stay up after that ended up losing the first game 21-14. The tables were turned after that, though. Sindhu raced away after leading 4-3, reeling off the next six points on the trot before Wardani pulled three back. At the interval, Sindhu was leading 11-6. The

Coming into the quarterfinal contest, Sindhu and Wardani were locked 2-2 in their Head-to-Head. Sindhu had enjoyed success against the Indonesian early on, with two wins in their first three meetings. But perhaps the most relevant meeting was the last one, this year at the Sudirman Cup. Wardani showed why she is one of the most improved players on the tour, with an impressive straight-games win over Sindhu.

In the round of 16, Sindhu had stunned world No 2 Wang Zhi Yi – one of the outright podium favourites in women’s singles this year because of her form on the BWF World Tour – with a masterful display. Sindhu made a bright start in the opening game, racing to an 11-6 lead at the mid-game interval with a flurry of sharp smashes and net winners. Wang fought back strongly to level at 19-19, but the Indian held her nerves to pocket the game. In the second game, Sindhu kept up the pressure, once again opening up a 11-6 cushion at the break. A stunning 57-shot rally briefly tested her, but she regained control with decisive attacking play, closing out the match. With that win, Sindhu thus extended her remarkable record against Chinese shuttlers at the Worlds, having previously beaten Wang Yihan (2013), Wang Shixian (2014), Li Xuerui (2015), Sun Yu (2017) and Chen Yufei (2017 and 2019) in earlier editions.

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