India’s PV Sindhu lost the opening rubber of the women’s team quarterfinal against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium on Tuesday, handing the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Sindhu, after winning a closely fought opening game, went down 23-21, 18-21, 11-21 against three-time world champion Yamaguchi.
Unnati Hooda will look to level the tie for India when she takes on Tomoka Miyazaki in the second rubber.
Sindhu had entered the contest with a 16-14 head-to-head record against Yamaguchi from their previous 30 meetings. Despite Tuesday’s defeat, she continues to lead the rivalry 16-15.
Sindhu trailed 6-10 early in the opening game but fought back to level the score at 12-12. She then recovered from 15-18 down and saved a game point before clinching the game 23-21.
Yamaguchi built a 17-12 lead in the second game, but Sindhu mounted another comeback to reduce the deficit to 16-18. The Japanese shuttler responded immediately to move 19-16 ahead and despite a Sindhu smash, Yamaguchi held her nerve to win the game 21-18 and force a decider.
The third game proved one-sided as Yamaguchi took control of the proceedings. Sindhu appeared to feel the physical strain of the gruelling exchanges and trailed 4-11 at the interval. Yamaguchi maintained her dominance to close out the decider 21-11.
India’s women have won only one medal in the Asian Games team event — a bronze at the 2014 Incheon Games. At the 2023 edition, the Indian women’s team was knocked out in the quarterfinals after losing 0-3 to Thailand.
(IANS Inputs)
