Paris, Aug 29 (UNI) Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu put up a valiant fight but crashed out of the quarterfinals of the BWF World Championships 2025 here today, losing to Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani in a hard-fought three-game battle.
Sindhu, ranked 15th in the women’s singles, went down 21-14, 13-21, 21-16 to world No. 9 Wardani in an hour and four minutes at the Adidas Arena.
The Indian shuttler was slow off the blocks, trailing 11-7 at the interval before conceding the first game. She stormed back in the second, using her reach to control rallies while her Indonesian opponent faltered with unforced errors, forcing a decider.
The final game remained neck-and-neck until 17-16, but Sindhu conceded four consecutive points at the crunch stage, allowing Wardani to seal the contest. The defeat marked Sindhu’s third loss in five encounters against Wardani.
A win would have made five-time medallist Sindhu the outright record-holder for most women’s singles medals at the World Championships, ahead of China’s Zhang Ning.
India’s campaign also suffered another setback in mixed doubles, where Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto bowed out in the last eight. The Indian pair, after taking an early 8-3 lead, fell 21-15, 21-13 to Malaysia’s fourth-seeded duo Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei in just 37 minutes.
India’s hopes now rest on men’s doubles stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, seeded ninth, who will take on Malaysia’s second seeds and two-time Olympic bronze medallists Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik later in the day.
