Badminton World Championships: PV Sindhu’s free-fall goes on, Lakshya Sen wins

Copenhagen, August 22

Former champion PV Sindhu’s wretched run continued as she bowed out of the World Championships but Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy advanced to the third round with a straight-game demolition of South Korea’s Jeon Hyeok Jin in the men’s singles here today.

1 It is the first time in her career that Sindhu, seeded 16th, has failed to reach the quarterfinals at the prestigious tournament

The most successful Indian at the World Championships with five medals, Sindhu lacked any sting in her attack and went down tamely 14-21 14-21 to old nemesis Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, a 2017 gold medallist and silver winner in 2019.

It is the first time in her career that Sindhu, seeded 16th, has failed to reach the quarterfinals at the prestigious tournament.

Sindhu and Okuhara, best known for their marathon 110-minute-long 2017 World Championships final in Glasgow, have always produced engaging contests but the second-round match at the Royal Arena turned out to be a lopsided contest.

The duo has been troubled by injuries in the last 12 months and had missed the last edition. Sindhu came into the match with a 10-8 head-to-head record but her game lacked the attacking prowess.

Sen, a bronze medallist at the 2021 edition, prevailed 21-11 21-12 over world No. 51 Jin. The 11th seeded Indian is likely to face third seeded Kunlavut Vitidsarn from Thailand in the next round. World No. 9 Prannoy tamed Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo 21-9 21-14 to set up a clash with 2021 champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.