Indian badminton ace PV Sindhu suffered an early exit from the All England Open 2025, bowing out in the first round of the women’s singles event after a hard-fought battle against South Korea’s Kim Ga Eun on Wednesday.
Sindhu, currently ranked 16th in the world, succumbed to the world No. 21 Korean shuttler with a 21-19, 13-21, 13-21 defeat in a contest that lasted 61 minutes.
The 29-year-old Indian displayed promising form in the opening game, seizing an 11-7 lead at the first interval and extending her advantage to 20-12.
Although Kim managed to save seven game points, Sindhu eventually clinched the set. However, the South Korean capitalised on the momentum and gained the upper hand in the subsequent games.
With her right knee strapped, Sindhu struggled to maintain her intensity. The second game saw both players tied at 12-12 before Kim broke away to level the match.
The decider witnessed Kim storming to a 7-1 lead. Despite Sindhu’s attempt to narrow the gap to 9-7, the Korean shuttler remained in control, sealing her place in the next round.
This marks Sindhu’s second successive first-round exit this year and her fourth consecutive opening-round defeat at the prestigious Super 1000 tournament.
Also read: Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Giants battle for WPL final berth
Indian doubles pairs in mixed fortunes
Later in the day, the top-seeded men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty overcame an early setback in the second game to defeat Denmark’s Mads Vestergaard and Daniel Lundgaard 21-17, 21-15, securing a berth in the pre-quarterfinals.
In the women’s doubles category, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand delivered a commanding performance to oust Chinese Taipei’s Sung Shuo-Yun and Yu Chien Hui with a 21-17, 21-13 victory.
However, Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra faced a crushing 9-21, 4-21 loss against South Korea’s Baek Ha-Na and Lee So-Hee, ending their campaign.
Paris 2024 Olympian Tanisha Crasto and her mixed doubles partner also exited the tournament, falling to Thailand’s Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat in straight games, 21-17, 21-14.
Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen and Malvika Bansod, both victorious in their respective first-round matches on Tuesday, are set to compete in the second round on Thursday.
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