All England Open 2023: PV Sindhu falls at first hurdle again, knocked out by China’s Zhang Yi Man

Former world No. 1 and double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu crashed out of the All England Open Badminton Championships on Wednesday after losing to China's Zhang Yi Man.

The star Indian shuttler lost 17-21, 11-21 in just 39 minutes against Zhang. This is the third time that Sindhu has lost her first round match this year.

She had lost to Carolina Marin of Spain in Malaysia Open in January before exiting the Indian Open at the same stage in the same month.

She had recently parted ways with her coach Park Tae-sang of Korea, under whose guidance she won a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.

Rusty Sindhu bows out

Sindhu was rusty and subdued throughout the match with her world number 17 opponent showing more agility and attacking intent.

There was not much to differentiate initially between the two who had 1-1 head-to-head record before Wednesday's match.

Sindhu led 6-5 and then made it 16-13. But the Chinese shuttler won seven straight points to lead 20-16 before taking the first game in 21 minutes.

In the second game, the two players were tied 5-5 but Sindhu committed a few unforced errors and was soon down 5-10.

Sindhu recovered a bit to trail 7-11 but was soon down 9-16 before losing the second game and the match. (With PTI inputs)

Published on: Wednesday, March 15, 2023, 08:35 PM IST