Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu bowed out of the Arctic Open 2026 badminton tournament after losing a three-game thriller to world No. 5 Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the women’s singles quarter-finals in Vantaa, Finland, on Friday.
Sindhu, seeded sixth, lost 21-11, 19-21, 21-18 to the top-seeded former world champion.
The defeat was also Sindhu’s 10th loss in 14 matches against Intanon, who has now won her last six meetings against the Indian badminton player.
Later in the day, Krishna Prasad Garaga and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy also went down in the men’s doubles quarter-finals as India’s campaign at the BWF Super 500 badminton tournament came to an end.
In the first game, Sindhu was slow off the blocks as Intanon raced to a 5-1 lead before the Indian fought back to narrow the deficit to 11-8 at the interval. However, the Thai shuttler went on to win 10 of the next 13 points after the mid-game break to take the opener.
PV Sindhu clawed her way back into the contest in the second game after making a strong start and leading at the interval before opening up a 17-14 advantage.
Ratchanok Intanon then produced a five-point burst to move ahead but Sindhu regrouped to win the next four points and force the match into a decider.
The decider was a neck-and-neck battle, with Sindhu and Intanon locked at 17-17 before the Thai shuttler won three consecutive points to earn match point and converted her second opportunity to seal the contest.
Meanwhile, Krishna Prasad Garaga and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy were ousted following a 21-13, 21-14 defeat to Denmark’s Christian Faust Kjær and Rasmus Kjær,
Indian shuttlers will now return to action next at the Denmark Open 2026, which starts on Tuesday.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/arctic-open-2026-badminton-india-quarter-finals-report
