Indian shuttler P V Sindhu in action against China's He Bingjiao, August 1, 2024.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Paris: PV Sindhu's hopes of winning a third Olympic medal lay in tatters as she made a shock exit from the Paris Games with a straight-game loss against China's world number nine He Bingjiao in the women's singles pre-quarterfinals here on Thursday.
The 29-year-old from Hyderabad failed to mount a consistent attack and was outpaced 21-19 21-14 by Bingjiao in a 56-minute round of 16 clash, which was a rematch of the Tokyo Olympic bronze medal play-off.
Sindhu, who won the silver and bronze medal at the Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo editions, had topped the group to qualify for the knockout stage here.
Bingjiao produced an attacking masterclass with especially her lethal forehand troubling Sindhu. The Chinese landed hard and accurate smashes to gather points at will, while Sindhu was guilty of going short with her lifts.
The Indian couldn't play at a high pace to counter her opponent's attack and after an intense opening game, she faded into oblivion as Bingjiao exacted revenge for the Tokyo defeat.
In the opening game, Bingjiao was 5-1 up as Sindhu committed some defensive errors and faltered in execution. The Chinese used flat pushes and tried to keep her back. Sindhu erred as her deep returns went wide and long. Soon it was 8-3 in favour of the Chinese.
Sindhu stepped up the pace and took control of the net as the rallies got extended. Sindhu's short lifts were punished by Bingjiao, who produced some sensational shots from the forehand corner.
A cross-court and down-the-line smash from Bingjiao helped her to take a three-point cushion at the break.
But Sindhu managed to draw parity at 12-12 after the Chinese sprayed into net. Two soft errors at the net by Sindhu was followed by a deceptive follow-up shot from Bingjio, who moved to 17-14.
Sindhu made it 17-18 before Bingjiao unleashed a body smash. It was then Sindhu's turn to produce a smash and it was 19-19. Bingjiao put a precise on-the-line return to grab one game point.
Bingjiao then sealed a long rally with a forehand jump smash to let out a roar.
After the change of sides, Bingjiao continued to mount her attack while Sindhu's length was a bit off as the Chinese quickly moved to 6-2. Bingjiao showed better anticipation and was also alert at the net, as she grabbed two more points.
Sindhu reeled off three points but Bingjiao kept the pressure on Sindhu with two more jump smashes to take an 11-5 advantage in the interval after the Indian found the net.
Sindhu continued to struggle with her execution as Bingjiao dominated the rallies with her aggressive display to quickly move to 14-8.
A forehand cross-court and a flat drive from Sindhu kept her hopes alive but it proved too late as Bingjiao moved to 18-11 after the Indian went wide again.
The Chinese grabbed seven match points and converted in the second opportunity after Sindhu went long again.