Sindhu loses in Hong Kong Open final

India's star shuttler P.V. Sindhu lost to Tai Tzu-Ying of Chinese Taipei in the final of the Hong Kong Open tournament here on Sunday.

The fourth seed defeated Sindhu 21-15, 21-17 in a match which lasted around 40 minutes at the Hong Kong Coliseum - 1.

This was Sindhu's third appearance in a Superseries final. She lost the 2015 Denmark Open final, then went on to clinch the 2016 China Open crown just a week back.

Tzu-Ying, the fourth seeded Chinese Taipei player who has beaten World No.1 Carolina Marin twice in two weeks, dominated the proceeding right from the start.

Sindhu, who is in her prime form after winning silver in Rio Olympics, bounced back in style to make it 8-8. But soon Ying went on a roll to win the next seven consecutive points to reach 15-8.

And from then onwards, Sindhu couldn't find her feet. As a result, the Hyderabadi shuttler lost the first game 15-21.

In the second game, World No.9 Sindhu regained her composure and changed her strategy to overpower the Chinese Taipei shuttler. But Ting used her cross-court smashes and sliced drops to maximum effect to prevail over the Indian shuttler.

In the last few points of the match, Sindhu gave a tough battle but it wasn't enough. Sindhu failed to match the pace of her opponent and lost the the second game 17-21.

--IANS

gau/sam/vt