PV Sindhu, Srikanth beaten in final group matches at World Tour Finals

The Indian shuttlers faced disappointment on the third day of the competition.

The Indian badminton players took to the court for their final group stage encounter at the ongoing World Tour Finals 2021 in Bali on Friday. Out of the seven shuttlers who qualified for the tournament, only PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen have managed to reach the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth and the duo of Ashwini Ponnappa and N. Sikki Reddy bowed out of the tournament after finishing last in their respective groups. Also, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty pulled out of the event on Thursday due to an underlying knee problem.

Having already qualified for the semi-finals, India's ace shuttler PV Sindhu lost to Pornpawee Chochuwong in a thrilling three-game encounter. Sindhu lost 12-21, 21-19, 14-21 to the Thai shuttler. This means that Sindhu will either face Pornpawee Chochuwong or Akane Yamaguchi in the semi-finals of the World Tour Finals 2021.

The Thai star completely dominated the first game with her impressive placement. However, Sindhu countered back in the second game 21-19 to force a decider. The third game was very close to the interval but it was Chochuwong who took control towards the end to eventually win the match in one hour and 11 minutes.

Kidambi, Ashwini-Sikki out of contention of semi-finals

Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth tried everything at his end but could not get the better of the second seed, Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia. Moreover, this was Srikanth's second consecutive loss to the world No. 8 shuttler. Srikanth eventually went down in straight games 19-21, 14-21 in just 37 minutes, marking his end at the World Tour Finals 2021.

Indian women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponappa and N. Sikki Reddy beat British duo Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith in their final group match to end their maiden World Tour Finals campaign with a win.

The Indian pair failed to qualify for the semi-finals after losing their previous two group matches. However, in their third and final match, they won 21-19, 9-21, 21-14 against the world No. 13 British pair.

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