Updated On: 26 July, 2025 08:01 AM IST | New Delhi | Neeru Bhatia
India’s chief national coach Pullela Gopichand praises his ward Hooda for beating badminton superstar PV Sindhu at China Open; wants teenager to live up to potential and deliver consistently on the biggest stage

Unnati Hooda during her quarter-final defeat to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi at the China Open in Changzhou on Friday. PIC/AFP
India’s promising shuttler Unnati Hooda, 17, lost in the quarter-finals of the China Open 16-21, 12-21 on Friday, but by beating compatriot and two-time Olympic Games medallist PV Sindhu in the pre-quarters, she has made the world sit up and take notice.
Hooda beat PV Sindhu 21-16, 19-21, 21-13 in a gripping three-game contest at Changzhou on Thursday to become only the fourth Indian women’s singles player to qualify for the quarter-finals of a Super 1000 event on the BWF Tour, joining Saina Nehwal, Sindhu and Malvika Bansod.
‘Feisty and strong’