Unnati Hooda bows out of French Open Super 750 after defeat to Wang Zhiyi

Indian shuttler Unnati Hooda exited the French Open Super 750 after falling to world number two Wang Zhiyi of China in the women’s singles pre-quarterfinals in Cesson-Sevigne on Thursday.

The 18-year-old Indian found it difficult to match the pace and precision of the second seed, going down 14-21, 11-21 in a 39-minute contest. Hooda, who had shown flashes of promise in earlier rounds, struggled to find her rhythm against Wang’s consistent shot-making and court control.

This was Hooda’s second consecutive loss to Wang, following their previous encounter at the Singapore Open earlier this year, where the Indian managed to take a game before losing the match.

Despite the defeat, the young shuttler’s progress into the last 16 at a Super 750 event marks another step in her growing international experience.

Mixed doubles pair also exits

In the mixed doubles category, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde also bowed out after a hard-fought three-game battle against local favourites Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue, ranked world number five. The Indian duo won a close first game 23-21 but could not sustain their momentum, eventually losing 23-21, 8-21, 17-21.

Their exit followed the departure of India’s top men’s doubles pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who were knocked out earlier in the tournament, concluding a disappointing campaign for the Indian contingent at the French Open.