PV Sindhu’s campaign came to an end as she lost to China’s Wang Zhi Yi 12-21,21-11,7-21 in the semi-final of the Arctic Open badminton tournament at the Vantaa Energia Areena in Finland.
PV Sindhu [Photo : SNS]
PV Sindhu’s campaign came to an end as she lost to China’s Wang Zhi Yi 12-21,21-11,7-21 in the semi-final of the Arctic Open badminton tournament at the Vantaa Energia Areena in Finland.
World No. 13th Sindhu started the match on the front foot and raced to a 5-2 lead. The Indian, however, failed to follow through and allowed Wang Zhi Yi to come back into the match before taking the opening game.
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The Indian, who had beaten Wang Zhi Yi in both head-to-head meetings, hit back in the second game and looked comfortable from start to end.
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In the deciding game, Sindhu took the early initiative and held a narrow 4-3 lead before Wang Zhi Yi turned the tables with six back-to-back points.
From that point onwards, the Indian was always playing catch up and the fifth-seeded Chinese proceeded to close out the match in one hour and three minutes.
Wang Zhi Yi had also accounted for Sindhu’s compatriot Aakarshi Kashyap in the pre-quarterfinals.
This was Sindhu’s fourth appearance in the semi-finals this season.
Results at the Arctic Open, a BWF Super 500 event, will count towards qualifying rankings for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
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