India’s Sindhu bows out of Masters Super Series

Rising Indian shuttler PV Sindhu’s giant-killing spree came to a halt after she went down fighting to world number nine Jiang Yanjiao in the women’s singles semi-finals of the Li Ning China Masters Super Series badminton tournament on Saturday. The 17-year-old, who created a flutter on Friday by beating Olympic champion Li Xuerui in the quarterfinals, lost 10-21 21-14 19-21 to home favourite Yanjiao in an hour and six minutes. The first game lasted just 14 minutes and Sindhu was thoroughly outplayed with Yanjiao reeling off seven consecutive points to clinch the initiative. There weren’t too many smashes or delicate net volleys on display in the opening game as the two players relied on each other’s errors to score.