Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu lost to China's He Bingjiao for the third successive time this year to bow out of the 2018 China Open tournament on Friday at Fuzhou.
Sindhu, who won three silver medals this year – Commonwealth Games, World Championship and Asian Games – lost their women's singles quarter-final match in three games, 17-21 21-17 15-21, after one hour and nine minutes.
The Olympic silver medallist, seeded third had previously lost to the world number seven at the Indonesia Open and French Open in July and October respectively.
Sindhu frittered away an 8-3 advantage early on to lose the opening game but made a roaring comeback in the second before losing the decider after a late charge.
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The world number three had started well to take a 4-1 lead early on before moving to 8-3 but Bingjiao managed to claw back at 9-9. The duo moved neck and neck till 15-15 when the Chinese moved ahead with three straight points. Sindhu made it to 17-18 before Bingjiao pocketed the opening game.
In the second game, Bingjiao surged to 4-2 but Sindhu turned the tables as she moved to 6-5 and then grabbed an 11-7 lead. She kept distance despite the Chinese snapping at her feet.
In the decider, Bingjiao was more sure-footed than Sindhu as she executed her plan well to take an 11-6 advantage at the interval. The Chinese managed to eke out a 15-8 lead before Sindhu produced a late charge to claw back to 15-16.
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But Bingjiao didn't give any chance to the Indian after that as she reeled off the remaining points to cement her place in the semifinals.
(With PTI inputs)
