PV Sindhu crashed out of the BWF World Championships 2026 after losing her pre-quarterfinal match to China's Wang Zhi Yi. The defeat ended India's singles campaign at the tournament, with hopes now resting on the doubles pairs.

India's ace shuttler PV Sindhu bowed out of the BWF World Championships 2026 after suffering a hard-fought defeat to China's Wang Zhi Yi in the women's singles pre-quarterfinals here on Thursday, bringing the host nation's singles campaign at the tournament to an end.

A gruelling 88-minute contest

The five-time World Championships medallist went down 11-21, 21-15, 17-21 to the World No. 2 in an absorbing 88-minute contest at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, despite a vociferous home crowd backing the two-time Olympic medallist throughout, according to ESPN. The defeat ended Sindhu's hopes of winning a historic sixth World Championships medal and also brought an end to her perfect record against Chinese opponents at the tournament. Before Thursday, Sindhu had won all eight of her World Championships meetings against players from China. Wang, who had to deal with cramps during the deciding game, held her nerve in the closing stages of a dramatic contest to book her place in the quarterfinals.

Sindhu started the match strongly in terms of intent, but Wang took control of the opening game, forcing the Indian into errors and wrapping it up 21-11. The Indian responded brilliantly in the second game. With the home crowd repeatedly chanting her name, Sindhu found greater control in the rallies and stepped up her attacking game to take the contest into a decider with a 21-15 win.

The third game turned into a gripping battle, with neither player willing to give an inch. Wang opened up a 15-13 advantage before the home crowd's "Sindhu, Sindhu" chants lifted the Indian. A powerful smash from Sindhu, followed by a Wang error, levelled the scores at 15-15.

The rallies grew longer and more physically demanding as both players pushed themselves to the limit. Wang appeared to struggle with cramps and received attention from officials, but returned to the court to continue the contest.

Wang eventually moved 18-17 ahead after opening up the court with her attacking play. Another gruelling rally ended with Sindhu hitting long as the Chinese shuttler extended her advantage to 19-17. Despite another stoppage as Wang received attention, the World No. 2 held her composure. Sindhu then found the net to hand Wang match point, which the Chinese converted with a drop shot. Wang fell to the court in celebration immediately after sealing the victory, while Sindhu's bid for a sixth World Championships medal came to an end.

India's singles campaign concludes

Earlier in the day, India's Ayush Shetty also bowed out in the men's singles Round of 16, losing 19-21, 11-21 to Indonesia's Alwi Farhan. Ayush, who had stunned World No. 1 Shi Yuqi in the previous round, fought back from 14-18 down to lead 19-18 in the opening game but failed to close it out. Alwi then dominated the second game to seal victory in around 45 minutes. Lakshya Sen and Unnati Hooda had also been eliminated in the second round on Wednesday, bringing India's singles challenge to a close at the home World Championships.

Doubles pairs keep medal hopes alive

There was, however, some cheer for the hosts as women's doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advanced to the quarterfinals with a 21-16, 21-12 win over Japan's seventh seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi. The world No. 39 Indian pair, returning to competition following Treesa's injury, are now one win away from securing a World Championships medal.

Mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, however, were knocked out earlier on Thursday after losing 16-21, 5-21 to China's Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui in the Round of 16.

With Sindhu's exit, India's singles campaign is officially over, while the country's hopes of a medal at the home World Championships now rest on its doubles combinations, including Treesa-Gayatri and men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who were scheduled to take on Malaysia's Yap Roy King and Junaidi Arif later in the day. (ANI)

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