Indian challenge over in All-England Championship

Birmingham, March 13: World champion P.V. Sindhu was on Friday ousted from the All England Championship after being outplayed by a determined Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, who rallied her way to a thrilling three-game win in the quarterfinal of the women's singles here.

The 24-year-old Indian squandered a sparkling start as Okuhara produced a rearguard action to outwit Sindhu 21-12, 15-21, 1321 in a 68-minute last eight encounter at the Arena Birmimgham.

Sindhu's defeat ended India’s campaign at the Super 1000 tournament.

Sindhu had come into the match with a 9-7 head-tohead record against Okuhara, having demolished the Japanese in the finals of the 2019 World Championships.

The Indian started the match with the same intensity, quickly moving to a 30 lead and then swelling the advantage to 7-2 with a precise shot at the backline.

The Japanese narrowed the gap to 5-8 before Sindhu unleashed a shot at the back and then grabbed another point when Okuhara found the net.

Sindhu entered the break with a five-point cushion. The Indian continued to dominate the proceedings after the breather, putting her opponent under pressure to gather points at will.

Earlier, Indian women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N. Sikki Reddy bowed out of the All England Championship

● In a late game, P. V. Sindhu lost to Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-12, 1521, 13-21 in the women’s singles quarterfinal at the All England Championship.

● World No.29 Indian duo, Ashwini Ponappa and N. Sikki Reddy lost 1321, 14-21 to seventh seeded Japanese pair Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi in the second round.

after suffering a straightgame loss in the second round of the competition, here. World No.29 Ashwini and Sikki lost 13-21, 14-21 to seventh seed Japanese combination of Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi in a match that lasted 38 .

For Ashwini and Sikki, it was their eighth successive defeat against the Japanese combination.

Meanwhile, Six-time champion Lin Dan staved off two match points as he won his first-round match at this year’s All England badminton championships on Thursday.

The double Olympic gold medallist and five-time world champion defeated Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn, a player half his age, 13-21, 22-20, 21-10 in just over an hour in Birmingham.