Indonesia Open Badminton : India’s PV Sindhu lost to Chinese Taipei’s Hu Wen-chi in the first round of the Indonesia Open, leading to her exit from the tournament.
PV Sindhu, two-time Olympic medallist, exits Indonesia Open Badminton in first round 51 days before Paris 2024
PV Sindhu, India’s star badminton player, suffered an early exit from the Indonesia Open Badminton 2024 after losing to Chinese Taipei‘s Hu Wen-chi in the opening round at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta, Indonesia Open Badminton on June 5 (Wednesday). This unexpected loss marked Sindhu’s first loss to Wen-Chi, with the final scoreline 15–21, 21–15, 14–21 in favor of the Taiwanese player.
The match, which lasted one hour and 10 minutes, saw the two-time Olympic medalist and former world champion succumb to Wen-Chi’s prowess. It was a disappointing result for Sindhu, who had earlier exited the Indonesia Open in the second round last year. This proved to be a significant setback for his preparations for the Paris Olympics 2024, where he aims to secure his third Olympic medal.
Sindhu made a comeback from a game down, pushing the match into a final third game. However, Hsu maintained control in the final game, securing the victory. Hsu’s victory will set her up to face Spain’s fourth seed Carolina Marin in the second round.
PV Sindhu’s recent struggles ahead of the Paris Olympics
Sindhu, a former world champion, recently reached her first final in over a year at the Malaysia Masters 2024 last month, but finished as runner-up in that title showdown against China’s Wang Zhiyi. Notably, PV Sindhu also crashed out in the Singapore Open 2024 before entering the Indonesia Open. The 28-year-old’s journey ended with a loss to rival Carolina Marin in the pre-quarterfinals. PV Sindhu surrendered an 18-15 lead in the decider, eventually facing her familiar opponent Marin in a thrilling three games.
There was another disappointing result for Indian badminton as the women’s doubles team of Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda lost to South Korea’s Kim So-young and Kang Hee-young by a scoreline of 12 in the first round in another match on 5 June. 21, 9–21.
On June 4 (Tuesday), another shuttler bound for the Paris Olympics, HS Prannoy, suffered an early exit from the Indonesia Open 2024. He lost in straight games to compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat with a scoreline of 17-21, 12-21. .