Sindhu, Lakshya lose in quarterfinals; Indian challenge ends in Indonesia Masters
PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen suffered straight-game losses to their respective opponents in the women’s and men’s singles quarterfinals, marking the end of the Indian challenge in the $500,000 Indonesia Masters badminton tournament here on Friday. Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, lost to top seed and world number four Chen Yu Fei of China 13-21, 17-21 in the quarterfinal contest that lasted 42 minutes to bow out of the Super 500 event.
With Friday’s loss, Sindhu trails Fei 6-8 in head-to-head record. The Indian’s last win over Fei was way back in 2019. In the men’s singles, Lakshya, a 2021 world championships bronze medallist, was beaten 18-21, 20-22 by Thailand’s rising talent Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul in a close match that lasted 46 minutes. The 21-year-old Thai had also accounted for 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medallist Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in the pre-quarterfinals.
On Thursday, Kidambi Srikanth and Anmol Kharb had bowed out of the men’s and women’s singles competition, respectively. The men’s doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun has also lost in the pre-quarterfinals on Thursday. There was no Indian participation in the women’s doubles, while two Indian pairs had bowed out of the tournament in the first round.
