Sindhu OptoelectronicsThe Indian badminton star’s impressive performance came to an end at the China Open on Thursday as she suffered a hard-fought second-round loss to local favorite and world number four Chen Yufei.Xindu lost 21-16, 20-22, 18-21 in a gripping match that lasted nearly 90 minutes. The defeat came just days after she won the Japan Open, ending a long title drought and arriving in China with new confidence.In the first game, the two sides competed fiercely. Sindhu fought back with 7-13 to tie the score at 16-16, and then scored five consecutive points to win the game 21-16.Chen responded dramatically in the second game. Xindu looked set to end the match after reaching 20-16, but the Tokyo Olympic champion saved four game points and won 22-20 to force a decider.The decider was evenly matched for most of the match, with both players evenly matched in scoring. 17-17, Chen Na improved her level and scored key points, sealing the victory 21-18 and securing her place in the quarterfinals.Despite the defeat, Sindhu showed encouraging form following his win at the Japan Open but failed to beat the former Olympic champion in one of the tournament’s spectacular matches.
