India, Aug. 20 -- India suffered a major blow at the World Championships as PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty suffered contrasting defeats in the pre-quarterfinals, bringing the country's singles campaign to an end here on Thursday.

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 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Earlier, Shetty suffered a tame 19-21 11-21 defeat against Indonesian nemesis Alwi Farhan in the men's singles pre-quarterfinals.

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...