Badminton World Championships: P V Sindhu goes down fighting

Earlier Indian mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto bowed out after losing 15-21 13-21 to world No. 4 Malaysians Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei.

PV Sindhu's medal hopes in the Badminton World Championships ended after the ace Indian went down fighting 14-21 21-13 16-21 in a hard-fought three-game quarterfinal thriller to Indonesia's Putri Kusuma Wardani.

The 2019 world champion and five-time medallist at the event, was eyeing a record sixth podium finish but faltered at the finishing line, losing to the ninth seeded Wardani in a pulsating 64-minute contest.

Wardani was the sharper player in the opening game, using angles and smashes to put Sindhu under pressure. Sindhu roared back in the second game, tightening her net play and finding her range on the smashes.

In the decider, Sindhu fell 0-3 behind before unleashing relentless, aggressive returns to finally crack Wardani’s defence.

Sindhu kept fighting, narrowing it to 15-16 with a wide smash from Wardani and another fine net shot. But just as she closed in, Wardani landed a body smash, though she immediately cancelled it out with a net error — 17-16.

The Indonesian then struck a precise smash deep to Sindhu’s forehand, followed by a costly misjudgement from the Indian at the backline, which established a three-point cushion for Wardani.

When Sindhu netted, Wardani brought up four match points. Sindhu went wide again to draw curtains on the match.

Mixed doubles hopes end

Earlier, the Indian mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto bowed out after losing 15-21, 13-21 to world No. 4 Malaysians Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, ending India’s hopes of a maiden mixed doubles medal at the showpiece.

(with agency inputs)