Sindhu out, Prannoy, Sen advance

India endured mixed fortunes at the Hong Kong Open Super 500 on Wednesday as star shuttler PV Sindhu crashed out in the opening round, while compatriots HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and Kiran George advanced with impressive victories.

Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, fell to Danish world No. 25 Line Christophersen in a gripping three-game battle, going down 21-15, 16-21, 19-21 in the women’s singles round of 32. It was Sindhu’s first defeat to Christophersen in six meetings, denting her confidence at a time when she appeared to be regaining rhythm after a patchy season.

The Indian ace had looked sharp in the opening game, pulling away from 14-13 to seal it 21-15. But Christophersen exploited a series of unforced errors in the second, winning five points in a row to wrest back momentum. The decider turned into a nerve-wracking contest, locked at 19-all, before the Dane held her composure to close out the match and seal a memorable upset.

India’s men, however, lifted the mood. World No. 34 Prannoy stunned 14th-ranked Lu Guang Zu of China with a commanding 21-17, 21-14 win in just 44 minutes. Sen, meanwhile, was made to work hard but held his nerve to beat world No. 13 Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong 22-20, 16-21, 21-15 in a tense contest. Kiran George also impressed, dismantling Singapore’s higher-ranked Jason Teh 21-16, 21-11 to book his spot in the last-16.

Elsewhere, the women’s doubles pair of Rutaparna and Swetaparna Panda went down 17-21, 9-21 to Hong Kong’s Oi Ki Vanessa Pang and Sum Yau Wong. Mixed doubles duo Dhruv Kapil and Tanisha Crasto also suffered defeat against Taiwan’s Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui.

India’s top men’s doubles stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who opened with a win on Tuesday, remain in contention for a deep run.