Wang Zhi Yi sprawled on the floor, soaking it all in after emerging victorious against PV Sindhu. The gruelling encounter, which lasted 88 minutes, left both players panting for breath after a series of long rallies. The match ended 21-11, 15-21, 21-17 in Wang’s favour. It also meant the hosts now have no player left in the singles draw. Young star Ayush Shetty was soundly beaten by former Junior World Champion Alwi Farhan of Indonesia 21-19, 21-11.The much-anticipated match between Wang and Sindhu followed the expected script, with both players showing patience and engaging in extended rallies. They shared a 41-shot rally, won by Wang, who led 11-9 at the mid-game interval. The Chinese player then blew Sindhu away, capitalising on her errors to close out the opening game with relative ease at 21-11.Sindhu then changed gears in the second game and led 11-8 at the interval. By this stage, the opponents had already contested two exhausting rallies, a 38-shot exchange won by Wang with a reverse flick and a 47-shot rally, also claimed by the Chinese player.Wang drew level by winning three successive points to make it 11-11 and again at 15-15. However, Sindhu, who last won the Championships in 2019, then reeled off six straight points to take the game 21-15 and force a decider. From then on, Sindhu dictated play with her power game, forcing several errors from her opponent.It was a neck-and-neck battle for every single point. Despite leading 11-10 at the interval, Sindhu never managed to break away and establish a sizeable advantage. Their bodies were slowing down and their legs beginning to tire. Wang took a medical timeout after suffering cramps while levelling the match at 16-16.Sindhu then regained the lead after a poor line judgement from the Chinese player, but that proved to be the only point the Indian won in the closing stages as Wang rattled off five straight points to seal the match. The longest rally of the contest, a 54-shot exchange, also came during this stretch. Once again, Wang claimed the point as an exhausted Sindhu pushed the shuttle wide.A net error from Sindhu handed Wang match point, and the Chinese player closed it out to win 21-17. A disappointed Sindhu admitted she could have shown more patience with her stroke play.“I should have been more patient because it was all going well. All three games were close,” she said after her defeat.“I am disappointed, of course. Sad, as I should have converted that, but that is how it is. That is how sport is. When you lose, you need to deal with it and bounce back stronger from your mistakes,” she added.Ayush Shetty also felt he missed his opportunity in the opening game, which ultimately proved decisive.Farhan led 11-9 at the interval and then extended his advantage to 18-14. However, Ayush began to find his range with his smashes and, combining them with deft net play, drew level before moving ahead 19-18. But Farhan won three consecutive points to take the opening game. In the second game, the Indonesian blew him away with some eye-catching retrievals from the back court. After leading 11-6 at the interval, Farhan stepped up another gear and did not allow Ayush to dominate from mid-court.Cross-court smashes, down-the-line winners and backhand smashes, the Indonesian displayed the full array of strokes to seal a 21-11 victory in 45 minutes.“I think he was really sharp today. I think I had my chances in the first game that I did not convert. In the second game he was playing with more confidence and he was putting a lot of pressure from the net,” Ayush said after the match.However, there was some joy for the home crowd as both the men’s pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, and women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand won their matches to advance to quarterfinals.Satwik-Chirag beat the Malaysian pair of Arifi Junaid and Roy King Yap 21-23, 21-19, 21-17. This was the first match of the Indians pair after they got a bye and a walkover in the first and second round respectively.Gayatri-Treesa saw off the Japanese pair of Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi, the seventh seed, 21-16, 21-12 to advance to the quarterfinals.