India's young badminton player, Unnati Hooda, grabbed everyone's attention with her impressive performance at the China Open Super 1000 tournament, but her excellent run came to an end in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Sports News: India's young badminton sensation, Unnati Hooda's journey in the China Open Super 1000 Badminton Tournament 2025 came to a halt in the quarter-finals. The 17-year-old Unnati faced a straight-sets defeat against Japan's world number four player, Akane Yamaguchi, with scores of 16-21, 12-21. Unnati caught everyone's eye in this prestigious tournament when she caused a sensation by defeating two-time Olympic medalist and her idol, PV Sindhu, in the previous round. However, in the quarter-finals, she couldn't withstand Yamaguchi's experience and skill for long, and the match ended in just 33 minutes.
Showed Fight in the First Game, Then Lost Momentum
At the start of the match, Unnati displayed an aggressive game and gave Yamaguchi a tough fight in the first game. The score was level at one point, but in the final stage of the game, Yamaguchi showed speed and won the first game 21-16 by winning five consecutive points. Unnati's best performance in this game was when she scored three consecutive points.
In the second game as well, Unnati tried to make a comeback in the middle and challenged Yamaguchi by taking four consecutive points at one point. However, the Japanese player took advantage of her experience and scored six consecutive points, winning the game 21-12. With this victory, Yamaguchi secured her place in the semi-finals, while Unnati's journey ended here.
Made Headlines by Defeating Sindhu
Unnati Hooda recorded the biggest win of her career in the pre-quarterfinals of the China Open when she defeated PV Sindhu. Before Sindhu, Unnati had defeated Goh Jin Wei of Malaysia. Such victories at the age of just 17 highlight the future possibilities for Indian badminton.
With Unnati's defeat, India's journey in the singles category in the China Open 2025 has ended. Now, the country's hopes rest on the men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who will face Malaysia's Yew Sin Ong and Ee Yi Teo in the quarter-final match. Even though Unnati's journey came to a halt in the quarter-finals, she won everyone's heart with her fighting spirit, confidence, and skill in this tournament. By performing brilliantly on the world stage at such a young age, Unnati has proved that she is a big star of the future.
