Arctic Open 2024: PV Sindhu exits after losing to Michelle Li in first round

Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu lost to Canada’s Michelle Li in the women’s singles first round of the Arctic Open Super 500 tournament on Tuesday.

Sixth seed Sindhu lost 16-21, 10-21 to Li in 37 minutes.

Sindhu was returning to action for the first time after the Paris Olympics.

Aakarshi Kashyap won against Germany’s Yvonne Li 21-19, 21-14 in another women’s singles contest.

Malvika Bansod pulled off a upset against world No. 23 Sung Shuo Yun of Chinese Taipei to advance to the women’s singles pre-quarterfinals.

The 23-year-old southpaw, who clinched her first title in over two years at the Azerbaijan International in February, showed her resilience in a hard-fought match, winning 21-19, 24-22 in 57 minutes.

However, the challenge will intensify in the next round as the Nagpur shuttler prepares to face a former world champion.

Bansod will take on the winner of the match between Ratchanok Intanon, the 2013 world champion from Thailand and tournament top seed, and Wang Zhi Yi, the 2022 world champion from China.