Ace shuttler P.V. Sindhu will have to wait longer for another title after her triumph in the Badminton World Championships as she was knocked out in the quarterfinal of the French Open on Friday night.
Sindhu, who is world no 6, lost to Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan in a hard-fought match at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. Sindhu lost 16-21, 26-24, 17-21 in the match that lasted an hour and 15 minutes. Tzu Ying took control of the first game early, but Sindhu forced her to work harder in the second, eventually taking the game, which was dominated by long rallies.
Tzu Ying took an early advantage in the third game, but slipped after the mid-game break to allow Sindhu to come back. But Tzu Ying managed to hold on to win.
This is Sindhu's 11th loss to Tzu Ying in 16 matches. Ironically, Sindhu had won the previous two matches against Tzu Ying.
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Earlier in the day, Saina Nehwal crashed out of the French Open, losing her quarterfinal game against South Korean prodigy An Su Young 20-22, 21-23. Saina's year has been dominated by poor form and injuries and she is yet to win a title after triumphing at the Indonesia Masters in January.
Men's doubles squad in semis
The big source of cheer for India on Friday was Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reaching the semifinal after defeating the Danish pair of Kim Astrump and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-13, 22-20. This is second straight time Rankireddy and Shetty are in the semifinal of the French Open. Rankireddy and Shetty had won their maiden Super 500 tournament at the Thailand Open this August.