Malaysia Open 2026: PV Sindhu suffers defeat against China's Wang Zhiyi in semi-final

Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], January 10 (ANI): Ace Indian badminton player and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the women's singles semi-final match against world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi of China in the ongoing Malaysia Open 2025 event on Saturday, according to Olympics.com.
Sindhu lost the match in straight sets (21-16, 21-15) against the World No. 2 at the Stadium Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur.
The opening set was tightly fought, with both ace players matching each point in the early exchanges. However, Sindhu didn't hold her nerves, and errors helped Zhiyi take the lead from 14-all to 18-14 before winning the first set.
The World No. 2 Zhiyi opened took a lead early in the second game before India's ace Sindhu fought back to take an 11-6 advantage at the mid-game interval.
After the interval, Sindhu started making errors that allowed the Chinese shuttler to regain momentum, close out the set, and clinch the match in straight sets.
Earlier in the tournament, India's Lakshya Sen crashed out of the Malaysia Open 2026 after losing to Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu in the men's singles pre-quarterfinals at the Stadium Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
Lakshya Sen, 13th in the badminton rankings, lost 22-20, 21-15 against world No. 18 Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong, China in 53 minutes, as per Olympics.com.
The 24-year-old Indian shuttler had a promising start, leading 11-9 at the interval and even holding four game points in the opening game. However, Lee Cheuk Yiu's six consecutive points turned the tide, and he took the opener in a tie-break. Sen couldn't recover and lost the second game as well.
This was Lakshya Sen's third defeat in five matches against Lee Cheuk Yiu. (ANI)