China Masters: Unnati Hooda crashes in Round 1, Shi Yuqi’s horror run continues

India’s campaign at the China Masters, a major tune-up ahead of the Asian Games, got off to a disappointing start. Unnati Hooda lost to Kim Ga Eun of South Korea in straight games in the women’s singles opening round. Earlier in the day, the men’s doubles pair of MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan bowed out of their first-round match against China’s Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi while trailing 8-11 in the opening match.

Meanwhile, former world number one Shi Yuqi suffered her second straight first-round exit, this time losing to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in the opening round of the Super 750 in Shenzhen. The local favorite was knocked out by Indian Ayush Shetty in the opening round of the BWF World Championship last week.

World No.1 An Se Young, who won the world title in Delhi last week, opened her China Masters campaign earlier by beating China’s Lin Hsiang, ranked 17th, 21-11, 21-13 in the opening round.

USUAL SHOWS FROM UNNATI

It was a worrying result for Unnati, ranked 31st in the women’s singles, as she lost 10-21, 18-21 on Court 1 in just 37 minutes. After being selected as the second singles player alongside PV Sindhu in India’s Asian Games squad, Unnati was looking to build momentum in China. She reached the second round at the World Championships, where she came close to knocking out experienced Canadian Michelle Li in Delhi.

Picked ahead of the likes of Tanvi Sharma and Devika Shaig for the second singles spot alongside Sindhu, Unnati could have benefited from a deep run at the China Masters. However, she was far from the best against the higher-ranked Kim of South Korea.

Unnati struggled to find momentum from the far end of the court in the opening game as her opponent, ranked 12th in the world, raced to an 11-3 lead. The lack of decisiveness in Unnatia’s game was evident as she struggled to keep up with Kim, who never let her lead slip.

In the second game, Unnati tried to be more proactive and the play from the close end helped her. Her strokes pushed Kim to the back of the court more often than in the opening game, allowing Unnati to find a winner. The teenager also looked more confident at the net in the second game.

However, tied at 15-15, the 18-year-old let the momentum slip and Kim went on to win outright in straight games.

MORE INDIAN ACTION ON DAY 2

Tanvi Sharma, who reached a career-high world ranking of 13, will open her campaign against Denmark’s 40th-ranked Amalie Schulz, while 33rd-ranked Devika Shaig faces Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbant on Wednesday.

Indian singles Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth will begin their campaign on Wednesday. Lakshya will take on in-form Canadian Victor Lai while Srikanth will face Chinese Taipei Chi Yu Jen.

– The end

Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

01 Sep 2026 17:41 IST