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First Post
an hour ago
- Sport
- First Post
Unnati Hooda stuns star shuttler PV Sindhu to enter China Open quarters; Satwik-Chirag advance
The 17-year-old defeated two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu 21-16, 19-21, 21-13 in 73 minutes to advance to the quarter-finals of a Super 1000 event for the first time in her career. She faces two-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi in her last-8 clash. read more Unnati Hooda reacts during her match against PV Sindhu at the China Open Super 1000 event in Changzhou. Image credit: BAI In a defining moment of her fledgling career, young Unnati Hooda stunned two-time Olympic medallist and Indian badminton stalwart PV Sindhu in a gripping three-game contest to storm into the quarter-finals of China Open Super in Changzhou on Thursday. Facing her decorated compatriot for only the second time, 17-year-old Hooda held her nerve in crunch moments to register a sensational 21-16, 19-21, 21-13 victory in 73 minutes, marking her maiden quarter-final appearance at a Super 1000 event. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The teenager from Rohtak, who has won Super 100 titles at the 2022 Odisha Masters and 2023 Abu Dhabi Masters, will next take on Japan's Akane Yamaguchi, the third seed and a two-time world champion. Hooda said she herself was surprised with the win. 'I didn't expect that I would win today,' Hooda said after the match. 'But I came with a thought that I will give it my all. Whatever the result (would be), is secondary. It's surprising for me too.' 'But I am happy that I was able to win against her today. It was a very tough match for me,' she added. Hooda said she was determined to remain patient through the course of the game. 'Actually, I wasted my two Hawkeye challenges. I don't remember the exact score but maybe it was 17-18. (By) only one point I was leading and it was totally out. I didn't have any challenge left so it was a little bit frustrating for me,' she said. 'Then she took control on the shuttle and dominated the second game after that. I also tried my best but couldn't win the second game. But I kept the patience level with myself in the third game.' 'When the side changed, I was ready to play long rallies and long matches from the start of the third game,' Hooda added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A new addition to the list of Indian WS players to reach the BWF Super 1000 quarters! Welcome, Unnati Hooda⬅️#Badminton — BAI Media (@BAI_Media) July 24, 2025 Sindhu said it was tough to control the shuttle. 'It was a bit hard to control the shuttle is what I felt because the court also made a difference. In the third game she took a lead and then maintained that,' she said. Sindhu said on her opponent, 'It's good for her. I wish her all the very best and she's done well for herself. She's doing well; she's coming up so I wish her all the best.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also displayed tactical discipline and composure to notch up a 21-19 21-19 victory over the eighth-seeded Indonesian combination of Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana and progress to the quarter-finals. It was however the end of the road for HS Prannoy, who bowed out after a hard-fought 21-18 15-21 8-21 loss to sixth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in a 65-minute men's singles second-round match. Sindhu vs Hooda Sindhu, ranked world No. 15, came into the match on the back of a solid win over Japan's Tomoka Miyazaki but found herself outplayed by Hooda's speed, precision, and unrelenting energy. This is the first time that Sindhu has lost to a fellow Indian in an international event in seven years, the last being the 2018 Commonwealth Games final loss to Saina Nehwal. She had lost to Saina in the 2019 National Championships final as well. In a match that featured high-octane rallies, momentum shifts, and moments of brilliance from both ends, it was Hooda's fearless approach that made the difference. From 13-all, Hooda surged ahead with four straight points before sealing the game 21-16, leaving Sindhu on the back foot. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The second game was tighter, with neither player able to pull away. At 19-all, Sindhu executed a clinical cross-court drop that left Hooda stranded, and followed it up with a precise smash to push the contest into a decider at 21-19. However, the final game saw a noticeable dip in Sindhu's consistency. Hooda capitalised on a string of unforced errors from the former world No 2, including mistimed smashes and poor judgement at the net. The youngster raced to an 11-6 lead at the mid-game interval, helped by a couple of powerful forehand smashes and sharp angles that kept Sindhu on the defensive. Sindhu narrowed down the gap to 12-15 with some crisp winners, but Hooda stayed composed, maintaining a steady four-point cushion with strong cross-court placements. At 20-13, she earned seven match points and needed just one to close it out, finishing with a forehand winner and celebrating with a fist pump. This marked a significant step in Hooda's upward trajectory. Now ranked world No 35, she's consistently challenged higher-ranked opponents, including semi-final runs in Taipei and strong performances at the German Open earlier this season. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Earlier, the duo of Satwik and Chirag prevailed in the key junctures. The opening game saw the Indonesians leading 14-12, but Satwik-Chirag surged ahead with a five-point streak to take control. The second game was similarly close. Trailing 10-14 at one point, the Indians clawed back to 18-all and managed to go past their opponents and seal a straight-game win. 'It was quite a topsy-turvy match — just back and forth the whole time. We didn't really have a big lead at any point. Eventually, around 16-something, we got 3–4 points in a row and managed to close it,' Chirag said. 'We're definitely feeling better. There's still a long way to go — I wouldn't say we're at our best just yet. We haven't played that many tournaments over the past year, so that's one of the reasons we've entered Macau.'
NDTV
2 hours ago
- Sport
- NDTV
PV Sindhu Stunned By 17-Year-Old India Star In China Open Round Of 16 Badminton
Changzhou: In a high-octane all-Indian clash, 17-year-old Unnati Hooda delivered a sensational performance to overcome two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and book her place in the women's singles quarterfinals at the China Open 2025 on Thursday. The match was a showcase of India's present and future in badminton, with the rising star Unnati taking on the seasoned champion Sindhu. Unnati started strong, claiming the opening game 21-16, but Sindhu struck back in the second, edging it 21-19 in a tense finish. In the decider, Unnati displayed remarkable play, sealing the contest 21-13 to advance to the quarterfinals. The 17-year-old Unnati from Haryana had a slight advantage at 19-18 after a neck-and-neck battle as lead exchanged hands repeatedly before Sindhu won three points in a row from 18 to win the second game and levelled scores. In the decider, Unnati opened a 3-1 lead, and before Sindhu closed the gap to 5-6. Ranked 28th in the World, Unnati extended the lead to 10-5. She maintained the advantage to 13-6 before going on to seal the game and match at 21-13, winning five points in a row towards the end of the match. This was their first head-to-head encounter at the international stage and thus Unnati's maiden victory over the seasoned Sindhu. Unnati will now face World No. 4 and third seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the quarterfinals. In Men's Doubles, Satwik-Chirag will take on Malaysia's Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi in their quarterfinal clash. Earlier, India's top men's doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, continued their winning momentum. The World No. 12 duo delivered another composed performance, edging past Indonesia's Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana 21-19, 21-19 in straight games, underlining their strong title aspirations. The win in the men's doubles kept India's campaign alive in the BWF World Series Super 1000 event after HS Prannoy exited with a defeat to World No. 6 Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei after a hard-fought encounter in men's singles.
India Today
3 hours ago
- Sport
- India Today
China Open: 17-year-old Unnati Hooda stuns PV Sindhu in round of 16
India's teenage badminton sensation Unnati Hooda produced the biggest win of her young career on Thursday, defeating senior compatriot PV Sindhu in the women's singles Round of 16 at the China Open Super 1000 tournament in ranked No. 35 in the world, held her nerve through a fiercely contested 76-minute encounter to beat the world No. 15 by a 21-16, 19-21, 21-13 margin and advance to the quarter-finals. With the victory, Hooda became the youngest Indian woman to reach the last eight at the prestigious tournament, marking a watershed moment in her burgeoning who came into the match on the back of a morale-boosting win over Japan's Tomoka Miyazaki, looked poised to build on that momentum. However, the 30-year-old struggled to keep pace with Hooda's aggression and court coverage, particularly in the decider, where the youngster ran away with the contest.A match of shifting momentum The first game saw both players trading blows in extended rallies, but Hooda's agility and control at the backcourt started tilting the balance in her favour. From 13-all, she reeled off four consecutive points and wrapped up the opener 21-16, catching Sindhu off-guard with her fearless intent and mature shot responded in the second game, pushing Hooda into longer rallies and drawing errors with tight net play. At 19-all, the senior pro produced a deft cross-court drop and followed it up with a sharp smash to clinch the game 21-19 and level the Hooda came out firing in the decider, racing to an 11-6 lead at the break with a flurry of winners. Sindhu tried to claw her way back, narrowing the gap to 15-12, but a string of unforced errors and Hooda's relentless pace put the match beyond 20-13, Hooda earned seven match points and converted the first with a forehand winner, letting out a roar and pumping her fist in guard risingThe result marks the first time Sindhu has lost to a fellow Indian in an international tournament since her defeat to Saina Nehwal in the final of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. It is also a clear signal of the rise of the next generation of Indian shuttlers, with Hooda leading the charge."This is definitely the biggest win of my career," Hooda said after the match. "I've always looked up to Sindhu didi. Playing against her was a huge challenge, and I just tried to focus on one point at a time."Hooda had earlier eased past Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour 21-11, 21-16 in the first round and has been in fine touch this season, with semi-final finishes in Taipei and notable performances at the German cruise into quartersadvertisementIn other Indian action, the men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continued their strong run, beating an Indonesian pair in straight games. The Indians trailed 12-14 in the opening game but surged ahead with a five-point burst to take second game followed a similar pattern, with the Indonesians leading 14-10 before Satwik and Chirag mounted a comeback to level at 18-all. They eventually edged past to seal the match."It was quite a topsy-turvy match - just back and forth the whole time," Chirag said. "We're still not at our peak, but matches like this help us build confidence."- Ends
NDTV
3 hours ago
- Sport
- NDTV
Teenager Unnati Hooda Stuns PV Sindhu At China Open; Satwiksairaj Rankireddy And Chirag Shetty Advance
In a defining moment of her fledgling career, young Unnati Hooda stunned two-time Olympic medallist and Indian badminton stalwart PV Sindhu in a gripping three-game contest to storm into the quarterfinals of China Open Super Thursday. Facing her decorated compatriot for only the second time, 17-year-old Hooda held her nerve in crunch moments to register a sensational 21-16, 19-21, 21-13 victory in 73 minutes, marking her maiden quarterfinal appearance at a Super 1000 event. The teenager from Rohtak, who has won Super 100 titles at the 2022 Odisha Masters and 2023 Abu Dhabi Masters, will next take on Japan's Akane Yamaguchi, the third seed and a two-time world champion. The men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also displayed tactical discipline and composure to notch up a 21-19 21-19 victory over the eighth-seeded Indonesian combination of Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana and progress to the quarterfinals. It was however the end of the road for HS Prannoy, who bowed out after a hard-fought 21-18 15-21 8-21 loss to sixth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in a 65-minute men's singles second-round match. Sindhu vs Hooda Sindhu, ranked world No. 15, came into the match on the back of a solid win over Japan's Tomoka Miyazaki but found herself outplayed by Hooda's speed, precision, and unrelenting energy. This is the first time that Sindhu has lost to a fellow Indian in an international event in seven years, the last being the 2018 Commonwealth Games final loss to Saina Nehwal. She had lost to Saina in the 2019 National Championships final as well. In a match that featured high-octane rallies, momentum shifts, and moments of brilliance from both ends, it was Hooda's fearless approach that made the difference. The opening game began evenly, with both players looking for rhythm. While Sindhu used her trademark down-the-line smashes and tight net play, Hooda responded with agile footwork and deep clears that forced errors from the veteran. From 13-all, Hooda surged ahead with four straight points before sealing the game 21-16, leaving Sindhu on the back foot. The second game was tighter, with neither player able to pull away. At 19-all, Sindhu executed a clinical cross-court drop that left Hooda stranded, and followed it up with a precise smash to push the contest into a decider at 21-19. However, the final game saw a noticeable dip in Sindhu's consistency. Hooda capitalised on a string of unforced errors from the former world No. 2, including mistimed smashes and poor judgement at the net. The youngster raced to an 11-6 lead at the mid-game interval, helped by a couple of powerful forehand smashes and sharp angles that kept Sindhu on the defensive. Sindhu narrowed down the gap to 12-15 with some crisp winners, but Hooda stayed composed, maintaining a steady four-point cushion with strong cross-court placements. At 20-13, she earned seven match points and needed just one to close it out, finishing with a forehand winner and celebrating with a fist pump. This marked a significant step in Hooda's upward trajectory. Now ranked world No. 35, she's consistently challenged higher-ranked opponents, including semifinal runs in Taipei and strong performances at the German Open earlier this season. Earlier, the duo of Satwik and Chirag prevailed in the key junctures to overcome the challenge posed by the Indonesian pair. The opening game saw the Indonesians leading 14-12, but Satwik-Chirag surged ahead with a five-point streak to take control. The second game was similarly close. Trailing 10-14 at one point, the Indians clawed back to 18-all and managed to go past their opponents and seal a straight-game win. "It was quite a topsy-turvy match — just back and forth the whole time. We didn't really have a big lead at any point. Eventually, around 16-something, we got 3–4 points in a row and managed to close it," Chirag said. "We're definitely feeling better. There's still a long way to go — I wouldn't say we're at our best just yet. We haven't played that many tournaments over the past year, so that's one of the reasons we've entered Macau."
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Unnati Hooda, 17, defeats PV Sindhu at China Open 2025 in 73-minute marathon
Meticulous Sindhu-centric tactical preparation, defensive solidity and some clean, gutsy stroke hitting saw 17-year-old Unnati Hooda land the first blow on PV Sindhu, the 21-16, 19-21, 21-13 win coming in front of a gleaning Changzhou crowd, watching the earth shift slightly in Indian badminton, at China Open. The Haryana teenager, trained by her father and a bunch of sparring mates at Rohtak, has been considered a special talent since she was 14. There was always a stubbornness and abrasion to her game, where she feared no reputation, knew she had the strokes and power and pace to trouble big names, and never lacked self-belief. But it would need more than self-assured poise to get past Sindhu, even while she struggles to go deep into tournaments and is severely impeded in her speed, if not power. Hooda had come prepared – she had been preparing for months, in fact, after being blasted by a big rattling Sindhu game at Syed Modi last Lucknow winter. They were ranked No 35 and No 15 respectively. She knew the big smash would always loom and she needed to absorb that pressure, but she had plans to deny Sindhu any elevation to belt down her hits and keep her busy, head dragged down in retrieval, on the front court. This she did by severely testing Sindhu's lunge. Her height gives her the expansive attack, and even the reach to get to the front court. But the low lunge has always tested Sindhu, and Hooda kept peppering the forehand spots with pinpoint drops – some from huge imbalanced positions. Hooda set the tone early, and, never allowed Sindhu to snatch the lead in the opening set. A clean striker with the racquet, Hooda also has some pretty nifty footwork and anticipation. Her game pace might get tested, starting Akane Yamaguchi on Friday in the quarters, but against Sindhu, her gameplan was watertight. She didn't bother getting intimidated by Sindhu's reach, knowing that even if she retrieved 20 shots, she could fox her on the 21st. So she eschewed errors on the lines, took the uncertainty of minimal court drift, precision mistakes out of the equation. With a good 45 day training block, Hooda's fitness was optimum, and she came prepared for long rallies even as she claimed the opener 21-16, with a clean break from 13-13. Undaunted, her personality always has been, and those around the Indian team talk of her self-assurance when she was unfazed by Sindhu's reputation even when she made the Uber Cup squad at 14. There's no needle as such, but Hooda did hurry her serves (or simple serve the soonest) and twice found Sindhu nor quite ready to receive. Having broken the age old rule of no coaches when two Indians play, the duo also got on with setting down a clear rivalry, where they would use every help available to beat the other – in this case, lines idea coaches. It's always been tricky for Sindhu when she plays Indians – though her last loss came to Ruthvika Gadde years ago, though Saina Nehwal has beaten her in some important finals. Here was another fearless opponent, and it took two enormous cross court smashes for Sindhu to break the second set 19-19 deadlock. Except, the smash is always her last throw of the dice, and the headaches were mounting. Sindhu trailed 11-14, levelled at 15-15 and went on to push a decider, but it was at 13-13 in the second that Hooda made her point. After the rushing serve, the immediate point thereafter was one of the longest, blistering paced rallies played by Indians on the circuit in many years, and Hooda drew the best out of Sindhu even, like Nozomi Okuhara used to. Hooda used a variety of drops and tosses, at a fast clip, to harry Sindhu, and leave her panting. More nuanced was the body attack. Sindhu's body defense, owing to her frame has always been tentative, but Hooda didn't quite smash into her torso, simply looped the shuttle at awkward lengths forcing Sindhu to thwack it out of the court in an untidy parry. Most youngsters would be deflated at coming up to 19-all amd being denied the match in straight sets. Hooda though came to fight. In the decider, prepared for the decider crucially, she opened up the court cerebrally. Her ability to play set-up points leading up to a winnervor drawing out an error is rather impressive. She could lull Sindhu into thinking she had a chance, could push her to corners, trigger really awkward positions from which Sindhu struggled to recover for the next return. And then she brought out her own smash. It's not a power bazooka, but it's more than strictly workable. She puts a lot of shoulder on it, and two down the lines stunned Sindhu a little, as Hooda opened up a 15-10 lead. Continuously chasing, with Hooda calmly inscrutable in front of her, Sindhu couldn't quite take control of any rallies, besides going for the smashes. Hooda's own scramble defense is not too shabby – not on her body, not on the lines. And she simply threw herself at the shuttle, and even if she didn't retrieve half a dozen smashes, she bought herself time and breath with elaborate mopping of the court. It was pretty evident when Sindhu went for the lines and sent one wide, trying to keep the shuttle away from Hooda that she wasn't entirely comfortable. Two errors from over hitting brought Hooda to the threshold. And the win was sealed with an expansive cross court smash – that would make PV Sindhu very proud of her. Upkaar Hooda, Unnati's father, would say immediately after the match that they had skipped lunch preparing for the big match. The hunger to succeed, those in her team say, is quite insatiable. Beating PV Sindhu will be seen as only a start of a career – an appetizer.
