Shenzen
India’s PV Sindhu and Anupama Upadhaya were both knocked out of the ongoing China Masters on Thursday, suffering losses in their second-round matches.
Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, was defeated by Singapore’s Yeo Jia Min in a hard-fought three-game match that lasted one hour and nine minutes. Sindhu lost 16-21, 21-17, 21-23. In the opening game, Sindhu leveled the score at 14-14 but couldn’t maintain her momentum as Yeo took the first game. Sindhu bounced back in the second game, coming from behind at 11-8 to win 21-17. In the decider, Sindhu started strong with a 6-3 lead and later extended it to 13-9. However, Yeo made a remarkable comeback, leveling at 15-15 and then winning 23-21, securing her victory. This marked Sindhu’s seventh consecutive tournament in which she has failed to make it past the quarter-finals.
Anupama Upadhaya had a tougher outing, losing to Japan’s Natsuki Nidaira in straight games. The World No. 26 Nidaira dominated the match, winning 21-7, 21-14 in just 36 minutes, eliminating Anupama from the tournament.
In mixed doubles, B. Sumeeth Reddy and N. Sikki Reddy advanced after their Chinese opponents withdrew from the match due to food poisoning.
Looking ahead, Lakshya Sen will take on Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke in the second round, while in men’s doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will face Denmark’s Rasmus Kjaer and Frederik Sogaard.
