Sindhu has struggled since she overcame an injury, and this year she has already left early from as many as seven of the 12 BWF World Tour events.
PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, was eliminated from the Australia Open on Friday’s women’s singles quarterfinal match after losing in straight games to world No. 12 Beiwen Zhang of the United States.
In the USD 420,000 super 500 tournament, Sindhu, who has dropped to world number 17 as a result of a string of early exits, attempted to reach her fourth quarterfinal of the year but struggled to contain Zhang, losing 12-21 17-21 in 39 minutes.
Sindhu had defeated Zhang six times in their prior encounters, but on Friday, the 33-year-old American of Chinese descent Zhang proved to be the victor thanks to greater control.
As she prepares to compete in the World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, which will take place from August 21 to 27, Sindhu’s loss to Zhang will be a major disappointment. In the first two rounds, she had defeated fellow countrymen Ashmita Chaliha and Aakarshi Kashyap.
After recovering from an injury, Sindhu, the 2019 world champion, has been struggling and has suffered early exits in as many as seven of the 12 BWF World Tour competitions this year.
After parting relations with Park Tae-Sang of Korea earlier this year, Sindhu briefly collaborated with SAI coach Vidhi Chaudhary. She is now working out with her new instructor, 2003 All England champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim.
Other Indians competing are HS Prannoy, who will play top-seeded Anthony Ginting of Indonesia, and Kidambi Srikanth, who won silver at the 2021 World Championships, who will play fellow countryman Priyanshu Rajawat later in the day.
