MUELHEIM AN DER RUHR (GERMANY): Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu suffered a shock defeat to lower-ranked Zhang Yi Man of China in the second round to bow out of the German Open Super 300 badminton tournament here on Thursday.
The seventh seed Sindhu, a 2019 World Champion, lost 14-21 21-15 14-21 to Zhang in a match that lasted 55 minutes. It proved to be a disappointing start to the European leg for Sindhu, who will be one of the contenders at next week's All England Championships.
The Indian couldn't get going as Zhang broke off at 5-5 and jumped to a 11-5 lead with six straight points. She kept her nose ahead to pocket the opening game without much ado. Stung by the reversal, Sindhu made a comeback in the second game as she fought her way to a slender 11-10 lead at the break and then slowly marched ahead to bounce back into the contest.
But the Chinese found her bearing in the decider as she moved away after an initial duel to grab a 11-8 advantage at the interval. She didn't give the Indian much chance after that and soon shut the doors on her fancied opponent.