Hong Kong Open: Sindhu knocked out by Ji Hyun

Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu crashed out of the ongoing Hong Kong Open after being defeated by Sung Ji Hyun of South Korea in the women's singles event here on Thursday.

The 23-year old stumbled to a 24-26, 20-22 defeat in a closely fought contest to miss the quarter-final spot of the tournament.

In a grueling match, the South Korean shuttler won a total of 48 rallies to race ahead of Sindhu.

Making an aggressive start to the match, Ji Hyun made her intentions quite clear having gained a four-point lead making it 6-2 in the opening game. The Indian shuttler, however, made a strong comeback with some strong rallies. After trailing for most part of the match, Sindhu leveled the score at 20-20.

Despite saving the game point for three times in the first game, Sindhu ultimately stumbled to a 24-26 defeat.

The second game started in a similar fashion as the first one, with South Korean shuttler taking the initial lead. Maintaining a consistent lead of two points, Ji Hyun gave some tough time to the Indian shuttler.

Sindhu, after leveling the scorecard at 14-14, gained some momentum resulting in two back to back points for the shuttler. This time, she saved two match points to continue her run in the match. But the Olympics silver medallist could not hold her nerves longer as she lost the game 20-22.

In men's singles, Kidmabi Srikanth entered the quarter round of the Hong Kong Open after defeating his Indian counterpart HS Prannoy 18-21, 30-29, 21-18 in their round of 16 clash.