India’s top women’s singles shuttler, PV Sindhu, suffered a disappointing first-round exit at the All England Open 2025, bowing out to South Korea’s Kim Ga Eun in a hard-fought three-game match 21-19, 13-21, 13-21.
Sindhu made a commanding start, racing to a 20-12 lead and eventually taking the opening game 21-19. However, the momentum shifted drastically as Kim responded with some exceptional all-round play, outmaneuvering Sindhu in the rallies that followed.
Despite Sindhu’s efforts to regain control, Kim kept up the pressure and took the next two games 21-13, 21-13 to seal her place in the second round.
This early exit will be a tough pill to swallow for Sindhu, who had been eyeing a deep run in one of badminton’s most prestigious tournaments.
Earlier, India's Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde progressed to the second round of mixed doubles competition with a hard-fought win over Chinese Taipei's Ye Hong Wei and Nicole Gonzales Chan at the All England Badminton Championships in Birmingham on Wednesday. Rohan and Ruthvika, ranked 40th in the world, prevailed 21-10 17-21 24-22 over Ye and Nicole in a thrilling opening match at the Arena Birmingham.
The duo will face fifth seeds Yan Zhe Feng and Ya Xin Wei of China next.
Lakshya Sen and Malvika Bansod have advanced to the second round in the men's and women's singles events respectively.
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