PV Sindhu and the fateful 122 seconds: A brilliant start was not enough to advance

PV Sindhu’s singles run at the Asian Games 2026 finished earlier than she expected. In the women’s singles quarter-final at Aichi-Nagoya, the Indian lost to China’s Chen Yufei 21-11, 18-21, 10-21. Sindhu looked unstoppable in the first game, but Chen changed rhythm in the second, levelling the match with a 21-18 win. A 122-second rally early in the deciding game became the real turning point. Chen took control from that rally and never released it, closing the match 21-10. The defeat ends Sindhu’s individual campaign at the Games. For a player with Olympic silver from Rio 2026 and bronze from Tokyo 2026, the result is under par. More importantly, the match showed that a bright start can hide a tactical trap. Chen won with patience, exploiting Sindhu’s physical decline after long rallies. The 122-second exchange does not appear on the scoreboard, but it tells the true story: the match was decided by who was willing to wait for the right moment.