French open: PV Sindhu comes good but Chen betters it

PTI

Paris, March 8

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stayed on course for the men’s doubles title after reaching the semifinals with a straight-game win, but PV Sindhu fell short in the women’s singles quarterfinals at the French Open Super 750 here today.

World No. 19 Lakshya Sen came from behind to outwit former world champion Loh Kean Yew 19-21 21-15 21-13 in a 78-minute clash.

The world No. 1 Indian pair, who had won the title in 2022, cruised into the semifinals with a 21-19 21-13 victory over Thailand’s world No. 32 Supak Jomkoh and Kittinupong Kedren at the Arena Porte de la Chapelle.

The Asian Games champions will next meet world champions and third seeds Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae of South Korea, who had beaten the Indian duo at the India Open final in January this year.

Earlier, Sindhu, who is on a comeback trail from a four-month-long injury layoff, produced a gallant fight and gave ample display of her stroke-play and physical fitness during a marathon one hour and 32-minute battle against Olympics champion Chen Yu Fei of China.

The Indian, however, had to settle for a 24-22 17-21 18-21 loss to the second seed and defending champion Chen in a riveting last-eight stage battle here.

The last time Sindhu had beaten the world No. 2 was en route her 2019 World Championships gold. Since then, the Indian has lost to the Chinese twice in their last two meetings, although she held a better 6-5 head-to-head record against her opponent coming into the crucial tie.

Playing a top-class opponent after a long time, Sindhu didn’t show any sign of the left knee injury that had forced her out of the circuit since October. There was nothing to separate the two as Sindhu produced an attacking display and also moved well but a steady Chen managed to keep her nose ahead in the end.

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