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PV Sindhu squandered four match points in the second game to lose 21-16, 20-22, 18-21 to home favourite Chen Yufei in the China Open 2026 Round of 16 in Changzhou on Thursday — ending India’s campaign at the BWF Super 1000 event, with Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty also falling in their respective second-round matches.
A week after the high of Japan, the low of China. PV Sindhu arrived in Changzhou as a champion, riding the wave of her first BWF title in years, only to see it all unravel in the cruellest fashion — four match points squandered, a home crowd roaring their hero home, and 89 minutes of toil ending in a three-game defeat that will take some time to process. India’s campaign at the China Open Super 1000 is over.
Changzhou, China: There is a version of Thursday’s story in which Sindhu wins in straight games and goes into the quarter-finals. She had the first game, she had four match points in the second — she had everything except the finish. That is the version Chen Yufei wrote instead, and the Beijing crowd at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre made sure she heard every decibel of their appreciation.
The Comeback That Hurt
World No. 12 PV Sindhu lost 16-21, 22-20, 21-18 to Chen Yufei, fourth in the badminton rankings, after the Chinese shuttler staged a comeback to reach the quarter-finals. The result stings harder for what might have been.
In the opening game, Chen Yufei had raced to a 12-6 lead before Sindhu fought back to level the scores at 16-16 and reeled off five of the next six points to claim the opener. It was a comeback of the highest quality — patient, physical, executed under pressure — and it set the tone for what Sindhu’s supporters had hoped would be a march to the last eight.
The second game was where the match was lost. Sindhu had four game points in the second to wrap up the contest in straight games. She, however, failed to take advantage as Chen won six points in a row to win the second game 22-20 and force a decider. The momentum shift was total. Chen, who is a gold medallist from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, took the game 22-20, clawing back from a 16-20 position.
The decider saw momentum shift completely. Sindhu, visibly exhausted and carrying a minor niggle, struggled to maintain intensity. Unforced errors crept in, allowing Chen to capitalise and close out the contest 21-18 after one hour and 29 minutes.
This was the two players’ second encounter in as many weeks on the BWF World Tour. Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu had defeated Tokyo 2020 champion Chen Yufei in the semi-final of the Japan Open en route to the title last week. The head-to-head swings on its own momentum — and on Thursday, in front of a partisan Chinese crowd, Chen’s momentum proved unstoppable once ignited.
Read More: Sindhu makes history at Japan Open, outclasses Yamaguchi to claim first Super 750 crown
Sen and Shetty Follow Sindhu Out the Door
If Sindhu’s exit was heartbreak, the men’s singles departures were disappointments of a different kind. Lakshya Sen, 14th in the badminton rankings, lost to eighth-ranked Victor Lai of Canada 21-19, 21-11 despite leading 15-9 in the first game. The two shuttlers had also met in the semi-finals of the All England Open earlier this year, which Lakshya Sen won in the decider. There will be a sense of unfinished business ahead of their next meeting.
World No. 23 Ayush Shetty lost to 24th-ranked Irish shuttler Nhat Nguyen in a similar fashion, going down 21-15, 13-21, 20-22. He led 19-15 in the decider but could not produce the finishing touches. It was a pattern that ran through India’s entire day in Changzhou — advantages built, advantages surrendered.
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A Bittersweet Week for Indian Badminton
The China Open campaign cannot be viewed in isolation. Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu overcame fellow Indian Unnati Hooda in the opening round of the China Open 2026 badminton tournament in Changzhou — fresh from her Japan Open triumph — defeating world No. 24 Hooda 21-14, 9-21, 21-10 in a 58-minute three-game contest. That win had been layered with extra meaning: Unnati Hooda had defeated PV Sindhu in the second round of last year’s China Open, making Sindhu’s victory on Wednesday a measure of revenge.
On the same day, Ayush Shetty had pulled off one of the biggest upsets of his senior career, defeating Indonesia’s World No. 11 Alwi Farhan 21-17, 5-21, 21-17, producing a composed display in the closing stages. Lakshya Sen had also defeated Japan’s Yushi Tanaka 22-20, 15-21, 21-14. Three shuttlers into the Round of 16 at a Super 1000 event had felt like a genuine platform for something special. Thursday swept it all away.
The road ahead for India’s badminton contingent runs through the Korea Open next on the Super 1000 calendar, before the World Championships in August. Sindhu, in particular, will want to channel the Japan Open title into a deep run at the Worlds — the one title in her extraordinary career that has so far remained out of reach.
For now, Changzhou ends. The court giveth in Japan and the court taketh in China. Indian badminton moves on.
Result: PV Sindhu (IND) lost to Chen Yufei (CHN) 21-16, 20-22, 18-21 (89 minutes) — China Open 2026, Round of 16
Other Indian results (Round of 16):
Lakshya Sen lost to Victor Lai (CAN, 8th seed) 19-21, 11-21
Ayush Shetty lost to Nhat Nguyen (IRL) 15-21, 21-13, 22-20
India’s China Open 2026 campaign — all results:
Round 1: Sindhu bt Hooda 21-14, 9-21, 21-10 ✅
Round 1: Lakshya bt Tanaka 22-20, 15-21, 21-14 ✅
Round 1: Shetty bt Farhan (WR 11) 21-17, 5-21, 21-17 ✅
Round of 16: Sindhu lost to Chen Yufei 21-16, 20-22, 18-21 ❌
Round of 16: Lakshya lost to Victor Lai 19-21, 11-21 ❌
Round of 16: Shetty lost to Nguyen 15-21, 21-13, 22-20 ❌
