India’s badminton star P.V. Sindhu suffered a disappointing early exit from the Hong Kong Open Super 500 on Wednesday, losing a closely contested three-game battle to Denmark’s unseeded Line Christophersen. The 21-15, 16-21, 19-21 loss marked the first defeat for the two-time Olympic medallist against Christophersen in six career meetings, halting Sindhu’s momentum just as she appeared to be regaining her form.
Sindhu started strong in the opening round of 32 match, asserting early dominance with a 3-1 lead. Maintaining composure, she pulled away from a narrow 14-13 advantage to close out the first game with a commanding finish. However, the second game proved more turbulent. Despite leading 13-12, Sindhu conceded five consecutive points, allowing the Dane to wrest control and level the match.
The decider turned into a thriller, with both players locked at 19-19 in the dying stages. Christophersen held her nerve and secured the final two points to seal the biggest upset of the day, eliminating the former World Champion in just under an hour.
Sindhu’s exit is a setback after her recent quarterfinal finish at the BWF World Championships, where she had shown signs of bouncing back from early-season struggles in tournaments like the Swiss Open and Japan Open.
While Sindhu faltered, India’s men’s singles contingent enjoyed a successful outing.
H.S. Prannoy, ranked 34th in the world, stunned World No. 14 Lu Guang Zu of China with a clinical 21-17, 21-14 win in just 44 minutes, booking his spot in the pre-quarterfinals. Lakshya Sen, a former World Championship bronze medallist, overcame a stiff challenge to defeat his opponent 22-20, 16-21, 21-15. Rising talent Kiran George added to the winning streak by breezing past Singapore’s Jia Heng Jason Teh 21-16, 21-11 in just 34 minutes.
In women’s doubles, the Panda sisters, Rutaparna and Swetaparna, delivered a convincing performance, beating local duo Oi Ki Vanessa Pang and Sum Yau Wong 21-17, 21-9 in only 28 minutes.
However, India faced a setback in mixed doubles, where Dhruv Kapil and Tanisha Crasto went down 16-21, 11-21 to the Chinese Taipei pair of Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui.
Later in the day, World No. 31 Ayush Shetty is set to face Su Li Yang of Chinese Taipei, while top men’s doubles seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had already opened their campaign with a victory on Tuesday.
With the tournament heating up, India’s hopes now rest on its strong men’s lineup as the Hong Kong Open heads into the business end.
