Jakarta : Indian challenge ended at the Indonesian Open after PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy suffered straight-game quarter-final defeats to crash out of the BWF World Super 1000 tournament here on Friday.
World No. 3 Sindhu, a silver medallist at Olympics and world championship, lost 14-21, 15-21 to Chinese World No. 7 He Bingjiao in 37 minutes. It was her sixth loss to the left-handed Chinese shuttler in 11 meetings.
Prannoy, seeded eighth, went into the match with a 1-3 head-to-head count against All England champion Shi Yuqi. He seemed to match Shi Yuqi in the rallies but lacked precision in his finishing touches.
As a result, the third seeded Chinese lead 11-8 at interval in both the games and eventually notched up a 21-17, 21-18 win in 39 minutes to reach the semi-finals.
The opening match between Sindhu and Bingjiao opened on an even keel as both the players looked to outdo each other in the rallies. At one stage, Bingjiao lead 10-8 but Sindhu managed to erase the deficit before a net return error gave a 11-10 lead at the break.
Sindhu failed to curb unforced errors and easy mistakes after the interval as the Chinese lead 19-11.
Sindhu lost a video challenge before a precise return helped Bingjiao grab the opening game. Sindhu zoomed to a 5-1 lead but it soon evaporated as Bingjiao drew parity at 6-6.
The Indian made a few judgement errors at the backline to allow the Chinese lead 10-8. Another shuttle drifted wide and it was advantage Bingjiao again.
Sindhu continued to struggle with her strokes, hitting long or at net. Bingjiao also showed immaculate defence to lead 17-11. She was also called for a fault at net. The match ended after Sindhu hit the net and failed to connect a return.
In the men’s singles earlier in the day, Shi Yuqi opened up a 6-3 lead early on before extending it to 8-5 and then went into the break at 11-8 when Prannoy failed to reach a shot in the forecourt.
At 13-17, Prannoy made Shi Yuqi twist and turn on the court before unleashing a smash beyond the reach of the diving Chinese. A body smash hit Prannoy’s face and then he committed an error at the net before Shi Yuqi sent a cross court smash to reach four game points. Prannoy saved one but hit long next as the Chinese grabbed the opening game.