Sindhu, Lakshya Lose Quarterfinals as Indian Challenge Ends at Indonesia Masters

India’s challenge at the USD 500,000 Indonesia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament came to an end on Friday after P V Sindhu and Lakshya Sen suffered defeats in their respective quarterfinal matches .

In the women’s singles quarterfinal , two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu went down in straight games to top seed and world No. 4 Chen Yu Fei of China , losing 13-21, 17-21 in a 42-minute contest . Despite putting up a stronger fight in the second game, Sindhu was unable to break Chen’s consistency. With this loss, Sindhu now trails Chen Yu Fei 6-8 in head-to-head meetings , with her last victory coming in 2019 .

Earlier, in the men’s singles quarterfinal , Lakshya Sen , the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist , was beaten by Thailand’s rising star Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul . Lakshya lost 18-21, 20-22 in a closely contested 46-minute match , failing to convert crucial points in the second game. The 21-year-old Thai shuttler had earlier stunned Paris Olympics bronze medallist Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in the pre-quarterfinals.

With the quarterfinal exits of Sindhu and Lakshya , India no longer has any players left in the tournament , officially ending the Indian challenge in Jakarta . Earlier, Kidambi Srikanth , Anmol Kharb , and the men’s doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun had also exited the competition.