Odense (Denmark), October 16: Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu crashed out of the Denmark Open with a stunning opening-round loss to American Beiwen Zhang in the women's singles event, here on Tuesday (October 16). In a later match, another Indian overcame an opening hurdle to seal her place in the next round. In a women's single encounter, Saina Nehwal played out an exciting win over Cheung Ngan Yi on Tuesday.
Third seed Sindhu lost 17-21, 21-16, 18-21 to Zhang in a hard-fought opening encounter that lasted 56 minutes. This is the third consecutive time that Sindhu has lost to Zhang. The American shuttler defeated Sindhu in the Indian Open final in February earlier this year.
Denmark Open: PV Sindhu knocked out of #DenmarkOpen after losing to Beiwen Zhang of USA 17-21, 21-16, 18-21 in the opening round of women's singles. pic.twitter.com/29fuSPghxo
— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) October 16, 2018
Rio Olympics silver-medallist Sindhu is going through a difficult phase after winning the silver medal in the Jakarta Asian Games. She was knocked out in the second round of the Japan Open after a straight-game loss to Gao Fangjie.
The script played out similarly in the China Open, where the 23-year-old suffered a 11-21, 21-11, 15-21 loss to world no 6 Chen Yufei of China in the quarterfinals.
Just in: @NSaina Nehwal fights her way into Pre-QF with 20-22, 21-17, 24-22 marathon win over World No. 24 Cheung Ngan Yi in 1st round
— India_AllSports (@India_AllSports) October 16, 2018
To take on World No. 2 Akane yamaguchi in Pre-QF #DenmarkOpenSuper750 pic.twitter.com/jF0hCio5U3
On the other hand, compatriot Saina Nehwal fought back from a game down to clinch a thrilling win over Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi.
In an 81-minute contest, the World No. 11 Indian outshined Hong Kong shuttler Cheung 20-22, 21-17, 24-22 to enter the next round of the Denmark Open.