PV Sindhu lost 16-21, 22-20, 21-18 to Chen Yufei, who has dropped to fourth in the world badminton rankings, after the Chinese launched a sensational comeback to reach the quarter-finals.
It was the second time the two players faced each other in as many weeks on the BWF World Tour. Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu got the better of Yufei in the semi-final of the Japan Open en route to the title last week.
In the opening game, Chen Yufei raced to a 12-6 lead before Sindhu fought back to restore parity at 16-16 and then won five of the next six points to claim the opening set.
Sindhu continued to dictate play in the second set and earned four match points at 20-16. But Chen Yufei wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet and saved all four by winning six consecutive points to force a decider.
Sindhu was in control in the early stages of the deciding set, but Chen Yufei took control towards the end to complete the victory in a match that lasted an hour and 29 minutes.
This was Sindhu’s ninth loss against Chen Yufei in 16 meetings.