French Open 2021: PV Sindhu loses to Sayaka Takahashi in semis
PV Sindhu suffered a heartbreaking loss to Japan's Sayaka Takahashi in the semis of the French Open 2021. The game went on to three sets and was competitive, while the Indian lost 21-18, 16-21, 12-21.
Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu had a tough outing in the semis of the 2021 French Open, as she lost to Sayaka Takahashi of Japan in Paris on Saturday. Although it was a hard-fought battle between the two, as the match was played entirely for the three sets, the latter won 21-18, 16-21, 12-21.
It turned out to be Sindhu's fourth defeat to Takahashi in eight encounters. The reigning world champion had lost in the quarters of the Denmark Open last week. The French Open is Sindhu's second tournament following her break since her bronze medal win during the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
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Takahashi would now take on the winner of Akane Yamaguchi of Japan and An Se-young of South Korea. In the men's singles, Taiwan's Chou Tien-chen has qualified for the final after defeating Heo Kwang-hee of South Korea in straight sets (21-15, 21-17) and would face either of the Japanese duos Kento Momota or Kanta Tsuneyama.
In the men's doubles, the Indonesia pair of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo reached the final after beating fellow Indonesians Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto. They would take on either Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik or South Korea's Ko Sung-hyun and Shin Baek-cheol.
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In the women's doubles, South Korea's Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong defeated Japan's Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida in straight sets to reach the final. They await the winner of fellow fellow fellow fellow people countrywomen Lee So-hee & Shin Seung-chan and Japan's Yuki Fukushima and Arisa Higashino.
In mixed doubles, Japan's Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino defeated Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai in straight sets to reach the final. Denmark's Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Bøje or Hong Kong's Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet would join them last.