Tokyo: Indian badminton star PV Sindhu’s struggles continued as she faced an early exit from the Japan Open 2023 badminton tournament at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium on Wednesday. The two-time Olympic medalist suffered a disappointing defeat against Zhang Yi Man from the Republic of China in the opening round.
PV Sindhu, currently ranked 17th in the women’s singles badminton rankings, faced a tough challenge against Zhang, who was just one spot below her in the rankings. Unfortunately, Sindhu was unable to find her rhythm and form, losing the match with a scoreline of 21-12, 21-13. This marked her seventh opening-round exit in the 13 BWF World Tour 2023 tournaments she has participated in this year.
This was also Sindhu’s second consecutive opening round defeat, following her loss to Chinese Taipei’s Pai Yu Po in the Korea Open last week. The back-to-back early exits have been a major setback for the Indian shuttler, who has been striving to regain her winning momentum.
Zhang Yi Man displayed a dominant performance throughout the match, dictating the pace and controlling the rallies. She secured victory in just 32 minutes, claiming her third win over PV Sindhu in five meetings.
Prior to Wednesday’s encounter, the two players had faced each other twice this year. Zhang had emerged victorious in their first encounter at the All England Open in March, while Sindhu had avenged her defeat by defeating Zhang at the Malaysia Masters in May.
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