PV Sindhu, a double Olympic winner, was eliminated in the pre-quarterfinals of the Kumamoto Grand Japan Super 500 badminton tournament on Thursday, ending India’s season prematurely. 20th place in the world Following the withdrawal of Lakshya Sen and the women’s doubles team of Teresa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, Sindhu was the only Indian left in the running. In an hour-and-fifteen-minute women’s singles match, Sindhu lost to 23rd-ranked Canadian Michelle Li 21-17 16-21 17-21 after wasting a game lead. In the first game, the two shuttlers were tied, but Sindhu seized a slim 11–8 lead and continued to lead by a nose to gain an early advantage.
After falling, Li launched an offensive in the second game, quickly gaining an 8-3 lead before Sindhu rallied, bringing the score as high as 16-16 at one point. However, Li subsequently improved and scored five points in a row to even the score.
The two shuttlers fought it out until 17 points in the decider when Li pushed the pace and won four points in a row to end the match. The unforced mistakes made by Sindhu also aided the Canadians. In the quarterfinals, Li will face Yu Jin Sim of South Korea.