Erratic Sindhu outwitted by determined Okuhara in All England Championship

World champion P V Sindhu was on Friday ousted from All England Championship after being outplayed by a determined zomi Okuhara of Japan, who rallied her way to a thrilling three-game win in quarterfinal of women's singles here. 24-year-old Indian squandered a sparkling start as Okuhara produced a rearguard action to outwit Sindhu 12-21 21-15 21-13 in a 68-minute last-eight encounter at Arena Birmingham.

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Sindhu's defeat ends India's campaign 

Sindhu's defeat ended India's campaign at Super 1000 tournament. Sindhu had come into match with a 9-7 head-to-head record against Okuhara, having demolished Japanese in finals of 2019 World Championships.  Indian started match with same intensity, quickly moving to a 3-0 lead and n swelling advant to 7-2 with a precise shot at backline. Japanese narrowed gap to 5-8 before Sindhu unleashed a shot at back and n grabbed ar point when Okuhara found net.

Sindhu entered break with a five-point cushion. Indian continued to dominate proceedings after brear, putting her opponent under pressure to gar points at will. Okuhara got a few points with her straight and cross-court smashes but those were too few as Sindhu zoomed to 18-9. With Okuhara's weak returns going to nets, Sindhu had a massive 20-11 advant. Indian quickly sealed opening game when Okuhara erred again.

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Okuhara makes up for error

After change of sides, Okuahara showed more intent, employing a low service and tried to put Sindhu on back foot. It worked as she took a 5-2 lead. Japanese engd Sindhu in fierce rallies and forced her to make errors to lead 7-3. A couple of unforced errors from Okuhara helped Sindhu to narrow gap. A cross-court shot and return of serve helped Sindhu keep it to 8-10 before Okuhara entered mid-game interval with a three-point lead. Okuhara didn't let momentum slip after break as Sindhu failed to keep pace in rallies. result was that Japanese jumped to a 16-9 lead in a jiffy. With Sindhu going long twice, Okuhara led 18-10 and soon roared back into contest when Sindhu found net after saving three game points.

In decider, Okuhara continued to dictate pace of rallies, leading 5-2 early on. Japanese didn't allow Sindhu to attack, reducing Indian to play retrieving game. A stunning return at deep forehand of Sindhu gave Okuhara an 8-3 lead. lightning-quick Okuhara left Sindhu frustrated with her speed and placement as she grabbed a 11-5 advant at interval. Errors continued to pile up for Indian as Okuhara took a 16-7 lead. Sindhu missed lines and found net regularly to allow Okuhara move to 19-11. Japanese eventually grabbed seven match points and sealed match when Sindhu committed ar error. 

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