New Delhi: P. V. Sindhu and Lakshya Sen bowed out in the quarterfinals of the USD500,000 Indonesia Masters in Jakarta on Friday, bringing India’s campaign at the Super 500 tournament to an end.
Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, went down in straight games to top seed and world No. 4 Chen Yu Fei of China, losing 13-21, 17-21 in a 42-minute contest. The defeat extended Sindhu’s head-to-head deficit against Chen to 6-8, with her last victory over the Chinese shuttler dating back to 2019, according to reports.
In the men’s singles, Lakshya Sen was edged out by Thailand’s Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul in a closely fought match. The Indian, a bronze medallist at the 2021 World Championships, lost 18-21, 20-22 in a 46-minute encounter. The 21-year-old Thai shuttler had earlier caused a major upset by eliminating Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in the pre-quarterfinals.
India’s challenge had already suffered setbacks on Thursday, with Kidambi Srikanth and Anmol Kharb exiting the men’s and women’s singles events, respectively. In men’s doubles, M. R. Arjun and Hariharan Amsakaruna were also knocked out in the pre-quarterfinals.
There was no Indian entry in the women’s doubles category, while both Indian pairs competing in the discipline were eliminated in the opening round.
