Ayush Shetty and Lakshya Sen also bowed out of the tournament following losses in their respective men’s singles second-round matches.
Lakshya faced a straight-game defeat against Canada’s Victor Lai, with scores of 19-21, 11-21, while Ayush endured a close three-game loss to Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen (21-15, 13-21, 20-22) after relinquishing a 19-15 lead in the final game.
In a truly exhausting matchup that stretched nearly one and a half hours, Sindhu lost 21-16, 20-22, 18-21. The 30-year-old from Hyderabad entered the tournament with momentum after clinching the Japan Open title the previous week, ending a notable title drought.
Post-match, Sindhu expressed her frustration over the insufficient recovery time between matches, using social media to voice her concerns about the scheduling.
The competitive nature of the match was clear from the outset, as Sindhu battled back from a 7-13 deficit to tie the score at 16-16.
She then scored five consecutive points to gain an early lead.
However, Chen responded with her own comeback in the second game, as Sindhu let slip four game points.
Chen, the gold medalist from the Tokyo Olympics, overcame a 16-20 deficit to win the second game 22-20. The deciding game remained tightly contested until Chen pulled ahead from 17-17 to clinch the match.
Sindhu had only 16 hours to prepare for her second-round match against Chen, whereas the Chinese athlete benefited from more than a day’s rest, allowing for greater recovery time.
“About 16 hours for me between matches. 24+ hours for my dear friend Chen tomorrow after having a full day off before facing me today,” the double Olympic medallist posted on X.
The fourth-seeded Chen will next compete against seventh seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the quarterfinals on Friday, affording the Chinese player a full day’s rest prior to their encounter.
Sindhu pointed out the inconsistency, stating: “Lovely to see recovery being given the importance it deserves. Funny how schedules have a way of taking care of recovery. I only wish they took care of everyone the same way.”
