Star shuttler PV Sindhu’s pursuit of a record sixth BWF World Championships medal ended in a heartbreaking defeat as she lost her women’s singles Round of 16 clash against China’s Wang Zhi Yi 11-21, 21-15, 17-21 in 88 minutes here at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Thursday (August 20).

The defeat marked Sindhu’s first defeat against a Chinese player at the World Championships. Since 2013, when Sindhu won her first Worlds medal, she had never lost to a Chinese player. Even in the 2025 Worlds, she had defeated Wang, but the Chinese shuttler, determined to end their 13-year medal drought, put up a magnificent fight to beat the Indian to silence the home crowd.

After Sindhu forced the decider by winning the second game 21-15, she remained in control of the match, leading in the third game. Her cross-court smashes, targeting Wang’s backhand, and brilliant net control kept her very much in the hunt to continue her unbeaten record against China.

But Wang fought her way back and drew level at 16-16. With Wang taking two injury breaks, visibly writhing in pain and holding her thigh due to muscle cramps, Sindhu lost momentum. The Chinese shuttler toiled hard to win five of the next six points and pull off the victory.

Asked about the final phase of the match, Sindhu said she grew a little impatient towards the end, which contributed to her defeat.

“Perhaps I needed to show a little more patience. Things were going really well — Game 1, Game 2 and even Game 3 were very evenly poised. I just feel I needed to be a little more patient in the last three or four points,” Sindhu told the media in the mixed zone.

PV Sindhu, however, was graceful in accepting her loss.

“I am disappointed of course, and sad about it (result). I should have converted that. But that is how the sport is. You learn, you lose a lot, and you win a lot. When you lose, you need to deal with it and bounce back stronger from your mistakes. You cannot win all the time. When you lose, you should be able to take it as well,” Sindhu added.

Asked whether Wang’s two injury breaks broke her rhythm, PV Sindhu said, “I don’t know if she’s injured or not, maybe that is her strategy or her way of doing it. You never know, maybe that’s her gameplay. But I had to be very focused, very patient, and focus on every point.”

Wang later said that she was indeed struggling with cramps, stating that the injury breaks were not tactical.

Sindhu, however, remains positive about her performance, having put up a fighting display and making Wang toil hard for her points.

With the Asian Games being the next big event for PV Sindhu scheduled from September 19 to October 4, Sindhu will look to improve further at the event. She has recently ended her five-year wait for a major BWF World Tour title, winning the Japan Open Super 750.

Asked about the lessons she had learnt from the defeat and the areas she would work on, she said, “Definitely a lot of lessons to be taken from today’s game. Maybe I just work a little bit on my strokes. I think it was just her day today. That is all I can say, because overall it was good badminton.”

“I’m going to go discuss with my coach what needs to be done, and accordingly we’ll work out whatever it is—physically or mentally, or stroke-wise, or whatever it is. We’ll discuss and accordingly work. So yes, that’s the next focus,” Sindhu signed off.