Seventeen-year-old Unnati Hooda stunned two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu in a gripping 73-minute contest to advance to the quarterfinals of the China Open Super 1000 badminton tournament. Facing Sindhu for the second time, Hooda registered a 21-16, 19-21, 21-13 victory to advance to the quarterfinal of a Super 1000 event for the first time.

The Rohtak teenager, who has won Super 100 titles at the 2022 Odisha Masters and 2023 Abu Dhabi Masters, will face Japan’s third seed and two-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi for a place in the semifinals.

Sindhu, ranked World No. 15, came into the match on the back of an emphatic win over Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki, but she could not handle Hooda’s speed, precision and energetic play on Thursday.

This is the first time that Sindhu has lost to a fellow Indian in an international event in seven years, the last one being her 2018 Commonwealth Games final defeat to Saina Nehwal. She had lost to Saina in the 2019 National Championships final as well.

In a match that featured aggressive rallies, it was Hooda’s tenacity that made the difference. From 13-all, Hooda surged ahead in the opening game with four straight points before sealing the game 21-16. The second game was tighter. At 19-all, Sindhu executed a clinical cross-court drop which left Hooda stranded. She then followed it up with a precise smash to push the contest into a decider at 21-19. The final game was rather one-sided with Hooda sealing the match with a forehand winner and celebrating with a fist pump. This win marks a significant step in World No. 35 Hooda’s career.