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Sindhu's struggle proved ineffective against the Chinese player. Thrilling match lasted for 3 games, World Championship journey ended with defeat.
Samira Vishwas | August 22, 2026 7:24 AM CST

New Delhi . The domestic audience had high expectations from the Indian star players in the BWF World Badminton Championships being held in India after 17 years, but as the tournament progressed, many big names have dropped out of the medal race. India's veteran female shuttler PV Sindhu also had to face defeat against China's Wang Xi Yi in the pre-quarterfinals. In this match played at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi, Wang Xi Yi defeated Sindhu 11-21 21-15 17-21 and made it to the quarter-finals. There was a tremendous fight between the two players in the match that lasted for about one hour and 28 minutes, but in the decisive game, the Chinese player performed better in the moments of pressure and won the match.

The start of the match was not as expected for Sindhu. In the first game, Wang Xi Yi took an early lead and led 11–9 at the interval. After this the Chinese player increased her pace and aggression while Sindhu was seen struggling to find the rhythm. After the interval, the Indian players could score only two points and lost the first game 11-21. However, Sindhu made a strong comeback in the second game. He showed better control from the beginning and scored points continuously to level the match. In the second game, Sindhu increased the excitement of the deciding game by winning 21-15.

In the third game, there was a tough fight between the two players for one point each. Sindhu tried to apply pressure on several occasions but in the final round of the match, Wang Xi Yi showed a great mix of patience and aggression. In the decisive moments, the Chinese player continuously scored important points and won the third game 21-17. With this, Sindhu's dream of winning another medal in the World Championship on home soil was shattered.

This tournament was also important for Sindhu because she has so far won five medals in the World Badminton Championship. He has one gold, two silver and two bronze medals to his name. She is among the few players to win five medals in the World Championship. This time also a great performance was expected from him. Sindhu started the tournament in strong style. In the round of 64, she defeated Sophia Noble of Ireland in straight games, while in the round of 32, she also won against Wen Yu Zhang of Canada to enter the last 16. But here she could not overcome the challenge of third seed Wang Xi Yi.

Sindhu's record against Wang was also not in the Indian player's favor before the match. Earlier there had been eight matches between the two in which the Chinese player had won more. After this defeat, Wang has once again strengthened his lead.




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    Apart from Sindhu, India's men's class has also suffered a big blow. Ayush Shetty was eliminated from the competition after being defeated by Indonesia's Alvi Farhan. A day before this, Lakshya Sen had suffered an unexpected defeat against Garrett Tan of America. In such a situation, the Indian challenge in the domestic World Championship has suffered a big blow due to the exclusion of many star players of India. However, the hopes of the Indian players in the tournament are not completely lost and the rest of the players are now trying to win medals for the country.


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