India’s rising star P.V. Sindhu assured herself of a second consecutive bronze medal at the World Championship, but it was curtains for star shuttler Saina Nehwal after suffering a straight-game loss in the women’s singles quarterfinals here on Friday.
The 19-year-old Sindhu, who clinched the bronze at the 2013 World Championship in China, produced another gritty performance to see off All-England champion Shixian Wang of China 19-21, 21-19, 21-15 at Ballerup Super Arena here.
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Olympic bronze-medallist Saina, seeded seventh, struggled against World No.1 Li Xuerui and the Chinese took just 45 minutes to send the Indian packing with an identical 21-15, 21-15 scoreline.
In the quarterfinal contest that lasted for one hour and 25 minutes, Sindhu dominated the net early on and used her height and reach well to lead 11-5 initially. However, Wang soon caught up at 15-15 before getting past the Indian to pocket the first game.
Sindhu stepped up her performance in the second and once again opened up a healthy 5-1 lead but Wang made her way back into contention at 6-6 with some precise net shots to lead 11-9 at the break. A couple of unforced errors helped Sindhu to narrow the gap but the Indian faltered at the forecourt to help Wang keep the lead. The Indian kept fighting and used her smashes and better judgment of the shuttle to draw level at 16-16.
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Wang, however, faltered at the nets to allow Sindhu a 19-16 lead and then hit another miscued shot to give the Indian four-game points. The Chinese saved three game points with a couple of brilliant shots from the back of the court but Sindhu finally managed to send one away from the outstretched right hand of Wang to bounce back into the contest.
The results: Women: Quarterfinals: Li Xuerui bt Saina Nehwal 21-15, 21-15. P.V. Sindhu bt Shixian Wang 19-21, 21-19, 21-15.
Third round: Sindhu bt Yeon Ju Bae (Kor) 19-21, 22-20, 25-23.
Men: Third round: Chen Long (Chn) bt K. Srikanth (Ind) 21-12, 21-10.