Badminton
All England Open 2025: PV Sindhu exits in the first round
After winning the first game, PV Sindhu failed to seize the initiative against Kim Ga Eun of South Korea.
After Kim's late resurgence in the first game, PV Sindhu faded away. (Photo credit: BAI)
Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu suffered a disappointing first-round exit from the the All-England Open 2025, a BWF World Tour Super 1000 event, in Birmingham, England, on Wednesday.
Sindhu was beaten 21-19, 13-21 and 13-21 by Kim Ga Eun of South Korea in the opening round.
Kim too strong for Sindhu
Sindhu began positively and played some brilliant smashes in the opening game. The Indian pulled away into massive lead at the mid-game stage and at the time, it looked as if she was running away with the match in straight games.
In the opening game, she had eight game points and was looking good. But this during this phase that the momentum completely shifted, and Kim saved seven of those and forced Sindhu to try some over-the-top shots.
However, Kim could not save the final game point and conceded the opening game, but her spirited comeback proved to be the turning point in the match.
From that stage on, Sindhu felt the pressure and conceded the second game.
In the final game, Sindhu employed multiple cross-court shots to stretch the game, but Kim's brilliant retrieval skills and drop shots were just too good for the Indian, who eventually succumbed.
Meanwhile, the Indian mixed doubles pairing of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde got off a winning start to the campaign, edging out the Taipei pair of Hong and Chan in the first round, 21-10, 17-21, 24-22.
