PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy lose in quarters of Malaysia Open

The Indian duo lost to higher-seeded opponents in the Super 750 series event.

The Malaysia Open Super 750's fourth day saw the end of the Indian challenge from all categories. PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy had to face off superior shuttlers in terms of world rankings in the quarter-finals. While the former bowed out after losing to World No. 2 in three games, HS Prannoy was beaten by the seventh seed Indonesian Jonatan Christie in straight sets.

Let’s have a look at all the important results of Day 4.

PV Sindhu, Nozomi Okuhara lose to Tokyo Olympics finalists

Former world champion PV Sindhu lost to her arch-nemesis Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei in three games. This was Sindhu’s sixth straight defeat against the World No. 2 shuttler. The Indian made an impressive start as she got the advantage of drift on the court and forced errors from Tai Tzu-ying, taking the game 21-13.

The World No. 2 bounced back after the change of ends and built a massive 14-4 lead in the second game. However, the Chinese Taipei shuttler was taken by surprise by Sindhu closed down the deficit to just two points at 15-17. Despite staging such an impressive comeback, Sindhu lost five straight points and the second game 15-21.

The Indian ace kept fighting till the first half of the deciding game but it was the Olympic silver medalist who cruised past Sindhu in the end. Tai won the game 13-21, 21-15, 21-13, winning her sixth straight match against Sindhu, and 15th in total.

Later in the day, Olympic champion Chen Yufei of China defeat the Japanese shuttler Nozomi Okuhara. The Nagano-born shuttler took the first game 21-14 but was surprised by the Olympic champion as Chen showed her own brand of patient badminton to seal the next two games. The final scoreline of the match read 14-21, 21-18, 21-18 in favour of Chen Yufei.

The Chinese shutter will now face Tai Tzu Ying in the semi-final of the Malaysia Open.

Jonatan Christie ends H.S. Prannoy's campaign

The lone Indian player in the men’s singles H.S. Prannoy ended a fantastic run against Jonatan Christie of Indonesia after losing in two straight games 18-21, 16-21.

On the other hand, World No.1 and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark defeated Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia 18-21, 21-17, 21-12.

Japanese ace Kento Momota was also given a walkover against his opponent Shesar Rhustavito.

Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles

Former women's doubles world champions Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara won their match against the Malaysian pairing of Anna Cheong and Teoh Xing in two straight games 21-15, 23-21.

In the mixed doubles, the Olympic champions Wang Yi Lyu and Huang Dong Ping also triumphed in their encounter. In the bottom half of the draw, their compatriot pair of Zheng Siwei and Huang Ya Qiong too won their quarterfinal showing. Both the pair hold a good chance of meeting in the summit clash.

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