 | « Back to article | Print this article |
The Indian challenge ended at the $1,250,000 Indonesian Open after PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy suffered straight-game quarter-final defeats to crash out of the BWF World Super 1000 tournament in Jakarta, on Friday.
World No. 3 Sindhu, a silver medallist at Olympics and world championship, lost 14-21, 15-21 to China's World No. 7 He Bingjiao in 37 minutes. It was her sixth loss to the left-handed Chinese shuttler in 11 meetings.
Prannoy, seeded eighth, went into the match with a 1-3 head-to-head count against All England champion Shi Yuqi. He seemed to match Shi Yuqi in the rallies but lacked precision in his finishing touches.
As a result, the third seeded Chinese lead 11-8 at interval in both the games and eventually notched up a 21-17, 21-18 win in 39 minutes to reach the semi-finals.
The opening match between Sindhu and Bingjiao opened on an even keel as both the players looked to outdo each other in the rallies. At one stage, Bingjiao lead 10-8 but Sindhu managed to erase the deficit before a net return error gave a 11-10 lead at the break.
Sindhu failed to curb unforced errors and easy mistakes after the interval as the Chinese lead 19-11. Sindhu lost a video challenge before a precise return helped Bingjiao grab the opening game.
Sindhu zoomed to a 5-1 lead in the second gam but it soon evaporated as Bingjiao drew parity at 6-6. The Indian made a few judgement errors at the backline as Bingjiao went ahead 10-8.
Sindhu continued to struggle with her strokes, as the Chinese stretched the lead to 17-11 before going on to seal an easy win.
In the men's match, Shi Yuqi opened up a 6-3 lead early on in the opening game before extending it to 8-5 and then stretched the lead to 11-8 when Prannoy failed to reach a shot in the forecourt.
The Chinese reeled off four straight points which Prannoy snapped after pouncing on a return and sending it at the backline.
At 13-17, Prannoy made Shi Yuqi twist and turn on the court before unleashing a smash beyond the reach of the diving Chinese.
A body smash hit Prannoy's face and then he committed an error at the net before Shi Yuqi sent a cross court smash to reach four game points. Prannoy saved one but hit long next as the Chinese grabbed the opening game.
In the second game, Prannoy grabbed the initial two points but Shi Yuqi came back to turn the tables and soon held an 11-8 lead again at the break when Prannoy hit wide.
The Indian managed to narrow the gap to 16-17 before clawing back at 18-18 after winning a net dribble but Prannoy hit long and then found net to lose the match eventually.