Malaysia Open: PV Sindhu Knocked Out by Nemesis Tai Tzu Ying
Malaysia Open PV Sindhu: Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu crashed out of the Malaysia Open Super 750 badminton women’s singles quarter-finals after losing to Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in a tight three-match contest here on Friday. Seventh seed Sindhu lost a one-game lead to lose 13-21, 21-15, 21-13 to second seed Tai Tzu, a silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics. Based on the win, the Chinese Taipei shuttler extended his dominance over the Indian ace, leading the face-off record to 16-5. Sindhu has now lost six consecutive matches against Tai Tzu.
Malaysia Open
Playing against Drift, Sindhu made a slow start and went down 2-5 in the opening game. But she soon got her act together and scored 11 consecutive points to take an 11-7 lead at the break. The Chinese Taipei shuttler tried to make a comeback in the competition by playing long rallies but Sindhu had to win the opening game.
Sindhu started the second game brilliantly but after early exchanges, her arch-rival took a 11-3 lead till the break.
Tai Tzu continued in the same vein after the change of ends and Sindhu relied on her powerful smash to reduce the deficit to 17-15 to extend her lead to 14-3.
Tai Tzu, however, quickly regrouped and scored the next four points to level the competition.
It was a close contest in the decider as both the shuttlers fought hard for 12 points before Tai Tzu put Sindhu under pressure with a mix of drop shots and smashes to win the third game to keep her title defense hopes alive.
India’s Thomas Cup star and world number 21 HS Prannoy will take on world number 8 Jonathan Christie in the men’s singles quarter-finals on Day 1.