File image of PV Sindhu© AFP
Indian shuttler PV Sindhu ended her Arctic Open 2023 campaign with a loss in the women’s singles semi-finals at the Vantaa Energia Areena in Finland on Saturday. PV Sindhu, 13th in the badminton rankings, lost 12-21, 21-11, 7-21 to the People’s Republic of China’s Wang Zhi Yi. PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, got the game going quickly and quickly took a 5-2 lead. However, the Indian badminton player didn’t follow through, allowing Wang Zhi Yi to return to the contest before taking the first game. PV Sindhu responded in the second game and appeared at ease the entire time.
In the deciding game, Wang Zhi Yi reversed the tide with six straight points after PV Sindhu seized the early lead and had a slim 4-3 advantage. The fifth-seeded Chinese shuttler went on to win the match in one hour and three minutes as PV Sindhu continued to struggle to keep up.
This was PV Sindhu’s fourth appearance in the semi-finals this season.
PV Sindhu was the only Indian badminton player left at the Arctic Open badminton tournament. Kidambi Srikanth had bowed out in the round of 16.
Results at the Arctic Open 2023, a BWF Super 500 event, will count towards qualifying rankings for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
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