Bangkok† Star India shuttle PV Sindhu made an exit from Thailand Open after coming down to Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei in the semifinals on Saturday.
Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, lost 17-21 16-21 to third-seeded Chen in 43 minutes to end an impressive streak in the Super 500 tournament.
Sindhu, seeded sixth, enjoyed a 6-4 head-to-head in the match, but she wasn’t her usual self against the Chinese, who played an aggressive badminton game to play trumps against the Indian.
The 26-year-old from Hyderabad had lost to Chen the last time they faced each other in the 2019 BWF World Tour Finals.
After an initial 3-3 battle, Sindhu was left 7-11 at the break in the first game.
Things didn’t change much as Chen continued to dominate the rallies and ended up having five game points.
Sinhu saved two before handing the opening match over to her Chinese rival.
The world number 7 put on a better show in the second game, leading 6-3 before going into halftime with a narrow two-point cushion.
But the Chinese number 4 in the world quickly sharpened her game and turned the tables to a 15-12 lead. Sindhu couldn’t stop the game as Chen eventually took four match points and converted it comfortably.
Sindhu, who has won two Super 300 titles this season at the Syed Modi International and Swiss Open, will next compete in the Indonesia Masters Super 500 to be held in Jakartka from June 7-12.
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