Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu suffered a shock first-round exit at the Denmark Open 2026, losing to Germany’s Yvonne Li in the women’s singles on Tuesday.
The 10th-ranked Indian went down 13-21, 25-23, 21-19 against world No. 50 Li at the SJF Bank Arena in Odense in the BWF Super 750 tournament.
The defeat was Sindhu’s first against Li in four career meetings.
Sindhu started strongly, dominating the opening game 21-13 to take an early advantage. However, Li fought back in a closely contested second game, saving the Indian’s challenge to level the match at 1-1 despite Sindhu saving five game points.
In the deciding game, Sindhu appeared to be in control after opening up a 12-7 lead and moving ahead 19-15. But Li staged a remarkable comeback, stringing together six consecutive points to seal the match and send the former world champion crashing out of the tournament.
The early exit is a setback for Sindhu, who had entered the tournament looking to make a deep run at the prestigious World Tour event.
