French Open 2023: Indian challenge ends after Satwik-Chirag lose, Sindhu retires with knee issue in round of 16

World No. 10 Sindhu clinched the opening game 21-18 against Thailand’s Supanida Katethong but stopped at 1-1 in the second game due to an issue with her left knee.

FILE PHOTO: P.V. Sindhu. | Photo Credit: PTI

Indian challenge at the French Open, a BWF World Tour Super 750, ended on Thursday as P.V. Sindhu was forced to retire mid-match due to a knee issue while defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost in the round of 16 in Rennes.

World No. 10 Sindhu clinched the opening game 21-18 against Thailand’s Supanida Katethong. However, at 1-1 in the second game, the two-time Olympic medallist stretched herself far too much, resulting in the injury to her knee.

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Sindhu applied the magic spray and sought the tournament doctor’s help. She consulted her coach Hafiz Hashim twice, and received a yellow card before deciding to concede the match to Katethong, who advanced to the quarterfinals.

Sindhu had defeated seventh seed Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia 12-21, 21-18, 21-15 in the opening round.

Later in the day, World No. 1 and Asian Games gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty went down 23-25, 21-19, 19-21 against Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in their second-round match.