Did Sindhu Face An Early Exit at the Hong Kong Open?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- PV Sindhu faced an unexpected defeat in the early rounds.
- Lakshya Sen and H S Prannoy advanced to the next round.
- Other Indian competitors, including Kiran George and Ayush Shetty, performed well.
- The competition remains fierce at the Hong Kong Open.
- This event highlights the growing talent in Indian badminton.
Hong Kong, Sep 10 (NationPress) Renowned badminton player PV Sindhu faced an unexpected early elimination at the Hong Kong Open Super 500, succumbing to Denmark's Line Christophersen in a thrilling three-game match on Wednesday.
The two-time Olympic champion, who reached the quarterfinals at the World Championships last month, lost with scores of 21-15, 16-21, 19-21 in the round of 32. This marked Sindhu's first loss in six encounters against the European Championships silver medallist Christophersen and her sixth first-round exit on the BWF World Tour this year.
Sindhu started off strong, clinching the first game with a commanding streak from 14-13. However, Christophersen made a comeback to take the second game. The final game became an intense showdown, tied at 19-all, before the Dane maintained her composure to achieve her inaugural victory over Sindhu.
Meanwhile, Anupama Upadhyaya also exited the women’s singles after a hard-fought match, losing 17-21, 22-20, 14-21 to the fourth seed Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan.
In men's singles, India's top-ranked player Lakshya Sen advanced to the second round following a challenging victory over Olympian Wang Tzu-wei from Chinese Taipei.
Sen displayed resilience, taking the first game in a tie-breaker but faltered in the second. Nevertheless, he rallied to establish a significant lead, ultimately winning the match 22-20, 16-21, 21-15 after an hour and 13 minutes.
Next, he will face compatriot H S Prannoy, who triumphed over Lu Guang Zu of China with a decisive 21-17, 21-14 win in just 44 minutes.
Kiran George also moved on to the second round, defeating Jason Teh of Singapore in straight games with scores of 21-16, 21-11. Additionally, Ayush Shetty made a remarkable comeback, overcoming a game deficit to win 15-21, 21-19, 21-13 against Su Li-yang of Chinese Taipei.
In women’s doubles, the Panda sisters — Rutaparna and Swetaparna — were eliminated after a 17-21, 9-21 defeat against Hong Kong’s Oi Ki Vanessa Pang and Sum Yau Wong.
The mixed doubles duo of Dhruv Kapil and Tanisha Crasto also faced an early exit, losing 16-21, 11-21 to Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui from Chinese Taipei.