Kumamoto Masters Japan: PV Sindhu loses in second round

Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu lost in the second round of the Kumamoto Japan Masters Super 500 tournament on Thursday ending her journey in the tournament.

Playing Michelle Li of Canada in the round of 16, Sindhu lost 21-17, 16-21, 17-21 in a three-game thriller.

This is the second consecutive loss for Sindhu against Li after losing the first round of the Arctic Open Super 500 tournament last month. Sindhu lost in the straight games there.

With Sindhu losing today, India's representation in the tournament has ended with Lakshya Sen losing yesterday in the first round.

Sindhu started the first game well and led from the start against Michelle.

At the mid-game break, PV Sindhu was led 11-7 and she maintained the lead throughout the first game to win the first game 21-17.

In the second game, Li started on a strong note and took an early lead of 8-3 and Sindhu couldn't recover from it losing the first game 16-21 putting the game in the decider.

The decider was the closest game of the match with both shuttlers going toe-to-toe in quest to win the game.

Both shuttlers were tied at 17-17 in the decider when Li pressed the accelerator and scored four consecutive points to end Sindhu's journey in the tournament.

Earlier yesterday, Sindhu brushed aside Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan, ranked 11, 21-12, 21-18 in 38 minutes in a one-sided first-round match.