By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Fresh from her the Japan Open title victory last week, India’s PV Sindhu suffered an early exit from the China Open 2026 after going down to home favourite Chen Yu Fei in a gripping three-game women’s singles pre-quarterfinal on Thursday.
Chen produced a remarkable comeback to defeat Sindhu 16-21, 22-20, 21-18, avenging the semifinal loss she had suffered to the Indian just days earlier at the Japan Open. In Tokyo, Chen had been forced to retire due to injury while trailing Sindhu 19-21, 10-15, paving the way for the Indian star’s title-winning campaign.
On Thursday, Sindhu looked set to register another victory after taking the opening game and moving within two points of the match at 20-16 in the second game. However, Chen displayed tremendous resilience, saving four match points and reeling off six consecutive points to snatch the game 22-20 before carrying the momentum into the decider to seal a memorable victory.
Reflecting on the defeat, Sindhu admitted she let the match slip from her grasp.
“I had my chance in the second game, I should have finished it. Overall, there really wasn’t much in it and these things happen sometimes,” she said.
“It’s important to keep improving, keep moving forward and continue showing your skills in the right context,” the Indian added.
Meanwhile, top seed Wang Zhi Yi kept her quest for a third consecutive China Open women’s singles title alive with a convincing 21-16, 21-15 victory over South Korea’s Sim Yu Jin. Wang, the world No. 2, advanced to the quarterfinals where she will face another Korean, Kim Ga Eun.
Chen, buoyed by her dramatic comeback against Sindhu, will next take on Thailand’s veteran Ratchanok Intanon for a place in the semifinals.