French Open: Reigning World Champion PV Sindhu Loses Against Japan's Sayaka Takahashi In Semifinals

PV Sindhu news: Reigning World Champion Sindhu lost the first game by 21-18, 16-21, 12-21 to Takahashi, who is currently ranked at number 15 in the world.

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French Open Badminton Tournament 2021: Indian badminton player and two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu's dream of winning the French Open 2021 title was shattered on Saturday after she was defeated by Japan's Sayaka Takahashi during the Women's Singles Semifinals. Sindhu's journey in the French Open tournament has come to an end. Reigning World Champion Sindhu, a 26-year-old badminton player from Hyderabad, lost the first game by 21-18, 16-21, 12-21 to Takahashi, who is currently ranked at number 15 in the world.

Sindhu lost to the Japanese player for the fourth time: This loss marked Sindhu's fourth loss  against the Japanese player in the past 8 matches between them. Defending world champion Sindhu had to suffer defeat in the quarterfinals of the Denmark Open in Odense last week. PV Sindhu has been struggling with poor form for some time now. 

The Indian started the match on a good note by tying at 5-5 and then 9-9 in the first game. The Japanese player was leading by 11-10 before break time. Sindhu made a comeback post break by leading 17-16. She then had four game points, losing out on two but winning the first game. 

In the second game too, Sindhu worked to maintain her lead. At one point in the game, she was leading by 5-2, but Takahashi soon levelled the score at 6-6. Sindhu's superb defense and some crisp shots helped her take a 9-6 lead before break time. However, Sindhu's consistent mistakes helped the Japanese player take the lead by 13-12. Takahashi soon retained the lead by 18-14 with the second game. 

The third match saw impressive performance from both players, but Takahashi gained control as the game progressed. She took the lead by scoring 11-6 until break time. She maintained her lead post break, where Sindhu was able to retain just one point out of 9 to lose against the Japanese player.