Crisis continues for Sindhu after BWF World Tour Finals knock out

Indian shuttler PV Sindhu, who entered the BWF World Tour Finals by the virtue of being the defending champion, once again met her worst nightmare – another defeat.

World No. 15’s knock out from the year-ending tournament after losing to China’s Chen Yufei 22-20, 16-21, 12-21 in Guangzhou on Thursday (December 12) is her second defeat in two days.

Sindhu, who has been out of form since August when she was crowned the world champion, threw away a game advantage to lose the one hour and 12-minute game.

Akane Yamaguchi after winning her campaign opener against the Indian on Wednesday (December 11), emerged victorious over Bing Jiao in a match that decided Sindhu’s fate in the tournament.

The victories have sent both Yamaguchi and Chen Yu Fei in the semifinals from Group A.

Also read: Defending champion Sindhu eyes turnaround at World Tour Finals

The dramatic turnaround of her fortunes which Sindhu was expecting after pulling out of Hong Kong Open to be prepared for the World Tour Finals stood null and void after her loss in the decider game.

In the first game after trailing 17-20, Sindhu took five straight points to gift herself the opener. However, following a strong start in the second game, the Chinese took over.

Entering the match with a strong head-to-head record of 6-3, Sindhu struggled to carry the momentum of the first game and lost the decider only to play a dead rubber against He Bing Jiao on Friday (December 13).

The Olympic silver medallist’s loss against Chen Yu Fei, who has been in rampaging form this season having won all six of her finals, including the All England Championships, puts Sindhu in serious doubts about her future.

The Indian, who has faced disappointment the previous nine times she played He Bing Jiao with four of them coming in their last four encounters, might give her fans the same view of facing a defeat in a match which is as pointless as it could get.