Indian badminton star PV Sindhu was knocked out of the Denmark Open after a quarterfinal loss to Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung on Friday.
Despite a strong comeback in the second game, the 29-year-old Sindhu fell short with a 13-21, 21-16, 9-21 defeat in a match that lasted nearly an hour.
Tunjung, the world number 8 and bronze medalist from the Paris Olympics, put on an impressive performance, securing her first win over Sindhu after losing 10 of their previous 12 encounters.
Sindhu, who had earlier upset China's world number seven Han Yue in the pre-quarterfinals, struggled to find consistency against the fifth-seeded Tunjung. The Indonesian dominated the first game, reeling off eight consecutive points to take control. However, Sindhu fought back in the second game, racing to a 6-1 lead before her opponent equalized. Sindhu regained the lead after the break and closed out the game 21-16, forcing a decider.
In the final game, Tunjung regained momentum, taking full control to seal the match, ending Sindhu’s run in the tournament. This defeat marks another challenging chapter for Sindhu, the two-time Olympic medalist, following her disappointment at the Paris Games earlier this year.
With Sindhu's exit, India's campaign in the Denmark Open came to an end.
Tunjung will now face top-seed An Se Young of South Korea in the semifinals.