Paris 2024 Olympics India badminton Highlights: Sindhu loses to He Bing Jiao; Satwik-Chirag ousted

After PV Sindhu’s Paris Olympics campaign was cut short in the round of 16 by China’s He Bing Jiao, the two-time Olympic medallist was asked about her playing at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

To this, Sindhu replied: “Next Olympics is still four years away. So for me, I will go back and rest for a bit. Take a break and see what it is. Four years is a very long time, (let’s take it) one week at a time. Right now it’s time to go back. I couldn’t give the result I expected. It’s sad. But it’s a journey, isn’t it?”

Read what Sindhu said after the defeat

Sindhu cannot manage a comeback after all. She grabbed an odd point here and there, but He Bing Jiao was playing like a player possessed. She never looked out of control in that match.

PV Sindhu 19-21, 14-21 He Bing Jiao

The result means that Lakshya Sen is the only remaining Indian shuttler in contention after Thursday's results, where Prannoy was defeated by Lakshya while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were eliminated by the formidable Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the quarter-finals.

You can hear Prakash Padukone shouting, Sindhu one point now. 

That's exactly what's not happening as He Bing Jiao is streaking away towards the finish line. The Chinese shuttler is really turning on the screws, defending with frustrating ease when Sindhu tries to smash and attacking till she wins a point whenever she gets a window. 

Sindhu's bid to win her third consecutive Olympic medal in her third back-to-back Games, is in trouble. She has only 10 more points left as we head into the mid-game break of the second game. 

Sindhu is struggling to catch the Chinese shuttler at this moment. The Chinese star is testing Sindhu's defence. She's suffocated that Sindhu smash, and when she gets a chance to smash, He Bing Jiao doesn't miss. 

On opposite sides of two courts, Rio Olympics finalists eyeing a comeback from one game down. Marin looks in control now, Sindhu not so much.

Sindhu has lost the first game 19-21. And after a tense rally, He Bing Jiao wins the first game with a delightful jump smash that Sindhu tries her best but cannot return. 

Sindhu needs to win this game to force a decider now. 

An exciting rally ends with He Bing Jiao turning her wrist to catch Sindhu on the wrong foot. Sindhu dives, but cannot reach it. The shuttle seems to be in, but Sindhu decides to use her final challenge on that shot. It's caught the line.

Sindhu is one point away from losing the first game. 

The two-time Olympic medallist is in no mood to let He Bing Jiao win the first game without a fight. She reaches all her reach and smarts to claw back into this game. She's gets to within one point of the Chinese shuttler at 17-18, then stays on the Chinese shuttler's heels before catching up at 19-19.

A race to the finish line this! 

After trailing in the mid-game break against He Bing Jiao, Sindhu caught up with the CHinese shuttler at 12-12. And then managed to stay on her heels till a while. But He Bing Jiao has been controlling the pace of the rallies and she's ahead 14-17. 

He Bing Jiao is one point away from going to the mid-game interval of the first game with a five-point lead. The Chinese shuttler hit a down-the-line shot, which pulls Sindhu out of position before she slices her shot to the other side of the court to earn the point. She's up 6-10 in the first game. 

Southpaw He Bingjiao, is a fascinating character. A multiple Tour title winner, she was at India Open in 2023, and in the mixed zone where interviews happen, she asked if she might try answering questions in English, soon after wrapping up a straight sets Round 1 win. And gleefully waded into her various adventures in India. “What I really like is those two-wheeler tuk-tuk. Motorbikes. There was a row of them at my hotel, so I enjoyed a ride,” she said. “And they are also so convenient to go back to the hotel.” She would also ask the sprinkling of reporters recommendations for what she should try in Indian cuisine.

Read more from Shivani Naik

One of the longest rallies of the match so far ends with Sindhu deftly hitting a drop after a cross court smash pulls He Bing Jiao out of position. And then she plays another drop to claim one more point. 

The Indian fans making themselves heard now with the jeetega bhai jeetega chants. 

The Chinese shuttler has had the better of the early exchanges, racing away to a four-point lead. 

But at least in the stands, Indian fans have outnumbered their Chinese counterparts, reports Mihir Vasavda, The Indian Express' man in Paris covering the Olympics.

Reporting from La Chapelle Arena, Mihir Vasavda says: "The PV Sindhu vs He Bing Jiao match is held up because of flash photography. Volunteers trying to spot who the culprit is. Chair umpire was just about to introduce players when an official stopped her."

As PV Sindhu vs He Bing Jiao is about to start, a little sign if you are looking for something to hold on to India fans. August 1, 2021 was the day Sindhu beat HBJ to clinch bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Three years on, she faces her Chinese rival once again. 

PS: Sindhu has a streak to protect. She has never lost a match against Chinese shuttlers at the Olympic Games or World Championships.

Lakshya Sen defeats compatriot by a 21-12, 21-6 margin in their men's singles clash to breeze into the quarter-finals of the Paris Olympics. 

This was a clash where Lakshya had barely anything to do against his compatriot. He opted to not do anything flashy, in sharp contrast to what we saw in the previous match where he was throwing hismelf around and hitting no-look, behind-the-back shots to make jaws drop. None of that was needed today. He just kept prolonging rallies and Prannoy's tiredness did the rest.

Prannoy was battling chikengunya not so long ago. So you could feel the residual effects of that on Prannoy.

For now, after Satwik and Chirag's ouster in men's doubles, India have some news to cheer with Lakshya, playing in his first Olympics, heading to the quarters.

After the restart of the second game, Prannoy is looking exhausted. He's trudging along the court, and he's hit three tired-looking shots. Almost like just the returning the shuttle across the net is costing him a lot of effort. Lakshya is not trying to force the matter, he's just eliciting mistakes from Prannoy by keeping the rallies going. 

This is turning into a one-way procession. Lakshya racing away into the next round by the looks of things so far. 

Theer is no resistence from Prannoy. He looks tired and almost resigned to his fate aas Lakshya races away to a 8-2 lead in the second game. 

This heat is adding unneeded sheen to this contest. Flags used to fan themselves in the audience. 

But Lakshya Sen in control of the match against HS Prannoy. Does the older Indian have one giant come-from-behind fight? It's his middle name HS CFBF Prannoy. But it's looking tough. Sen sticking to straight hits largely on a lulling pace. Not needing the expansive cross game that much.

Barely any celebration from Lakshya Sen after winning that. He's playing imperious badminton so far. 

Meanwhile, in a men's singles encounter the two Indians left in the fray are in action against each other. 

Lakshya Sen is leading 11-6 in the first game. So far he's looked in his element, while Prannoy is showing signs of fatigue. 

Soh Wooi Yik came to the party keeping his cool. And the insane service variations, real and the dread of them, incited proper harakiri amongst Indians. The former World champions are feared for this reason. They can drag opponents into their whirl of a flat-fast game. It needed calmer nerves, Indians couldn't get themselves out of Aaron Chia's trap. And Soh Wooi Yik's taps. The taller Malaysian played like... for want of a better comparison... like Chirag Shetty. 

Sadly for India, Chirag didn't play like Chirag.

Hearts break. Le 'Sheet happens.

It was a quick game with the longest rally of the match lasting 22 shots. The average rally was just four shots long. 

In 64 fast and furious minutes, one of India's most promising medal contenders have been eliminated from Paris Olympics.  

What a heartbreak! The Indian pair were ahead in the match after winning the first game. But the Malaysians clawed back in the second. 

The Indians see their campaign end cruelly i nthe quarter-finals.

The start of the match was all about the attacking intent of the Indians. They were dictating the pace. Compromising the Malaysians. Making them run around. In fact, the score was 11-10 in mid-game interval. From there the Indians won 21-13! 

But the next two games were a harsh reality check for SatChi. The Malaysians took the wind away from the Indian sails by playing flatter exchanges. 

The Indians lost 21-13, 14-21, 16-21

That. Soh. Serve. Looped over Chirag. Satwik is ice cool on returns and serve though. 16-15

Thsi is a race that's headed down to the wire. But the Indians have done well to negate the Malaysians' tactics of keeping the shuttle flat.

Indians need the Suryakumar Yadav like ability to find gaps and bore in the shuttle there. Like Satwik does. Flat game is kryptonite. 14-14

Nervy nervy lead of 11-10 in decider. It's going to boil down to Indians believing, knowing they can win this staying calm. They have the better attack. But it's nervy.

The flatter game is a trap. Indians need to flee it.

Malaysia were 6-8 ahead at one stage. But the Indians have a late surge to head to the midgame interval with a 11-9 lead. Five points added by the Indians while the Malaysians have managed just one.

The Malaysians were ahead by two points but some accurate guesswork allows Chirag to let the shuttle fall out of bounds. 

It must be noted that the previous Olympics, Aaron-Soh were medallists. But for the Indian pair, reaching the quarters itself is their best performance. Not that this will be of any consolation for the Indians if they lose today. They're in Paris for medals. And have set their sight on gold.

The Indians mounting a strong comeback. And its not just their aggression that's winning them points, one of the points was claimed by a gem of a deception from Chirag, which caught the Malaysians on the wrong foot.  

Too many unforced errors creeping into the game of Satwik and Chirag now. The Malaysians have stopped giving the shuttle so much air-time, option for flatter exchanges across the net. And it's taken the win out of the sails of the Indian pair. They spent a lot of the first game leaping and raining smashes on the Malaysians. But now, they're hitting a lot of shuttles into the net or out of bounds.  

Chirag likely needs to stand a little further at the net because both Malaysian serves are getting tougher. Aaron trying too hard and can get a few faults but he's varying it beautifully..Malaysians have had the advantage on first four shots. Take it 21-14

And we're headed to a third game decider. 

Satwik and Chirag looked impenetrable in the first game. But the second game slipped out of their hands. 

The Malaysians are starting to edge ahead now. They have won back-to-back points to take a four-point lead in this second game. 

And the Indians make a service error right after winning a point. The Malaysians reciprocate with a service error of their own.

The Malaysian pair is just ahead at the mid-game interval in the second game. They're scrambling here to stay in the contest after being blown out of the water by SatChi in the first game. 

The second game was more evently contested. 

Once agains too close to call at the start of the game. Satwik and Chirag were ahead at one stage, but allowed the Malaysians to catch up with them at 4-4. 

And now both pairs are neck and neck at 6-6. 

Idea is to send Aaron Chia behind. Satwik smart-flicks and lifts through gaps are pushing Aaron around, yo-yoing him around vertical axis. 18-12 was supreme point. Chirag opened up the court for Satwik with a short smash. Getting both Malaysians on same side. If attacking downward net play was an art, the Indians are prettying up power-play. Sublime movements, to cut off the Malaysian rhythm. Aaron Chia had 4 net errors. Four. The net-king kungfued.

India take it 21-13.

Chirag and Satwik have win the first game in a blaze of flat returns and ferocious smashes! 

They're one game ahead in this quarter-final against the Malaysian pair. 

The Indians now starting to extract mistakes from the Malaysian pair, as shuttles are heading straight into the net. 

The Indians looking devastating at the moment. 

relentless attack from Chirag there. He rains smashes on the midsections of both Malaysian shuttlers, and Aaron-Soh keep pushing the bird back, until Chirag makes them crack! 

Chirag Shetty is striking from very high and using his height to hit downwards. It's one way to not allow Aaron-Soh to keep it flatter, disrupt the Malaysian pace. Indians are going to be tested on their low defense, even as Satwik and Chirag try to soar. The two traded serve faults but this is going to stay tight. India lead 11-10.

Satwik soft drive at the net. And Chirag smash. Good role swaps. But Malaysians matching their rotations.

What drama! The Indians looked like they were surging ahead after reaching 10-8. But the Malaysians pulled back two points to level at 10-10. That's then the Indians piled on the pressure to head into the mid-game interval with an 11-10 advantage. 

A tight game so far. And the Indian pair are just a foot ahead. Chirag has sent down some thunderous smashes so far. 

With one pair from their group pulling out, Satwik and Chirag have had to play only two games to reach the quarter-finals.

And they are yet to drop a game, winning their two groupo games in straight games.  

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty to take on Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the quarterfinals. 

The history with the Malaysian pair is the story of the rise of Satwik-Chirag. Indians had lost 8 times to them, before registering their first win. Satwik-Chirag have won thrice since, and in straight sets. 

The record is still 8-3 in favour of the Malaysians, and that's primarily due to that net-puppeteer Aaron Chia, a magician of moves, who foresees the next 3 steps. He is the danger man. 

Malaysia hit the boot camp to ensure Chia trimmed down a tad and got sharper. Soh is underrated and can sneak in pacy returns. 

The Indians will need to go aggressive and attacking. But Aaron Chia will play his tricks from the front. Including the mixed serves. 

Satwik-Chirag though have looked good on their attack against the Indonesians. This should be fun. You gotta beat the best to be the best. 

Malaysia still searching for its first ever gold medal in badminton. So is India here.

The first Indians shuttlers in action today will be the men's doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty. They will be taking on the Malaysia pairing of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the men’s doubles quarter-finals.

It's going to be a tough clash between the two pairs. Laook at the past head-to-head between the duos. 

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty VS Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, men’s doubles quarter-finals 

Lakshya Sen VS HS Prannoy, men's singles Round of 16 

PV Sindhu VS China's He Bing Jiao, women's singles Round of 16 

Day 6 has gotten off to a mixed start for India with Swapnil Kusale bagging a bronze medal in the men's 50m Rifle 3P bronze and Nikhat Zareen suffering a Round of 16 exit. The Indian men's hockey team also went down to Belgium 1-2 but now the onus will shift on India's badminton stars to round up a fine day. Satwik-Chirag, Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy and PV Sindhu will all be action this evening! Stay tuned!