NEW DELHI: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stood one step away from a third medal after progressing to the men's doubles quarterfinals but India suffered a big blow at the World Championships following the ouster of PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty in the singles competition here on Thursday.
Satwik and Chirag, who won two bronze medals in 2022 and 2025, rallied their way to a hard-fought 21-23 21-19 21-17 win over Malaysia's world No. 19 pair of Junaidi Arif and Yap Roy King in the pre-quarterfinals.
It was their first match of the tournament following a first-round bye and second-round walkover.
However, two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu's hopes of winning an unprecedented sixth World Championships medal ended with a gruelling 11-21 21-15 17-21 loss to China's world No. 3 Wang Zhi Yi, who battled severe cramps in both legs in the final stages to advance to the quarterfinals.
"I don't know if she had an injury or what, maybe that was her tactics and her way of doing it," Sindhu told reporters after the match.
"I have to be focused and I was, but again each point matters, right? At that point, even though she takes a break or not, if she is injured or not, you never know.
"It does hurt a lot more because after you train and work hard for so long, losing these kind of matches definitely hurts a lot. But I think it is a game, that is how it is supposed to be."
Earlier, the 21-year-old Shetty, who had created a flutter by stunning defending champion and world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi in the opening round, went down 19-21 11-21 to world No. 12 Alwi Farhan.
It was his fifth defeat in eight meetings against the 11th-seeded Indonesian, bringing the curtains down on India's men's singles campaign.
Lakshya Sen had bowed out of the premier tournament on Wednesday.
India's women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also moved a step closer to a maiden medal by reaching the quarterfinals with a straight-game win over Japanese seventh seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi.
The unseeded Indian pair, on a comeback trail after Treesa recovered from an injury, produced a dominant performance to outwit the world No. 7 Japanese pair 21-16 21-12 in a one-sided contest.
It was the first quarterfinal appearance by an Indian women's doubles pair at the World Championships since Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa achieved the feat in 2015.
Sindhu had a flawless record against the Chinese in the World Championships and the world No 9 Indian, playing at her 11th World Championships, entered the match with a 3-5 head-to-head record against Wang.
The two traded some good rallies early on before a lovely return of serve gave Sindhu a two-point advantage at the mid-game interval.
The Chinese surged ahead 14-9 and with unforced errors flowing from her blade, Sindhu slipped 10-18 behind. She responded with two sharp cross-court smashes to stay afloat, but another attempt floated long to make it 19-11 in Wang's favour.
Wang earned nine game points when Sindhu found the net again. The Indian then faltered in a net duel, allowing the opening game to slip away.
Sindhu started the second game strongly, going 3-0 up. At 5-3, she sent a lift long after a 47-shot rally, but responded immediately with a superb cross-court return that left Wang stranded. However, Sindhu's unforced errors allowed Wang to stay within touching distance at 7-9.
The Indian managed to take a three-point lead into the interval after Wang sailed one long.
Wang quickly erased the deficit after Sindhu made errors at the net and from the back line. Sindhu was polished around the net, but simple mistakes made it difficult for her to sustain pressure.
Wang soon narrowed the gap to 12-13 with a smash. Sindhu responded with a forehand cross-court smash, followed by another brutal winner after a long rally, restoring her lead at 15-13 and maintained it at 17-15. Wang eventually lifted long to hand Sindhu five game points.
She failed to negotiate a tight net dribble on the next point, and the match went to a decider.
Sindhu carried the momentum into the third game, opening up leads of 4-1 and then 7-4. She dictated the pace and attacked whenever the opportunity presented itself. But a few errors, including missed sidelines, a smash into the net and a shot that went long, gradually allowed Wang to claw her way back to 7-8.
The duo moved from 9-9 to 10-10 before a misjudgement from Wang gave Sindhu an 11-10 lead.
Sindhu extended her advantage to 13-10, but Wang once again fought back. A body smash, followed by a wide shot from Sindhu, put Wang ahead. Another error from the Indian, this time into the net, handed Wang five straight points.
A down-the-line smash from Sindhu finally ended the run, making it 15-15. Wang then went long, allowing Sindhu to regain the lead at 16-15.
It was then the match turned. Sindhu hit wide on the next point, and while chasing the shuttle, Wang fell flat and immediately clutched her left thigh after appearing to suffer a cramp. Following a medical timeout, Wang returned to action with the score level at 16-16.
Sindhu's net error was cancelled out by a misjudgement from Wang at the sideline. A smash put Wang ahead 18-17. Another excruciating 54-shot rally followed, ending with Sindhu going long. Wang, however, was now clutching her right thigh.
Sindhu then smashed into the net to hand Wang three match points. The Chinese player collapsed on the court after converting the point.