Fuzhou: Shuttler PV Sindhu broke her Super Series title drought by winning the women’s singles title at the China Open badminton tournament, here Sunday. This is Sindhu’s first big success after winning the Rio Olympics silver. She had earlier lost in the second round of the French Open last month.
In the summit clash where fortunes swung like a pendulum, Sindhu defeated Sun Yu of China 21-11, 17-21, 21-11 in a match that lasted 69 minutes. The victory at the Haixia Olympic Centre helped Sindhu tie the head-to-head score at 3-3 with Sun.
Sindhu dished out a dominating game as she zoomed to an 11-5 lead early on. The Indian looked sharp and athletic as she engaged in a fast-paced game to bamboozle her opponent.
Eventually it was a cross-court return which earned Sindhu a massive 12 game points at 20-8. Sun saved three with a couple of smashes and backhand drop. But then Sindhu closed out the game with half smash.
In the second game, Sindhu led 6-3, 11-7 and 14-10. But then Sun started her fightback by hitting most of the shots into Sindhu’s body and caught up at 14-all.
A sharp smash and a superb return on Sindhu’s backhand helped Sun grab a 18-16 lead which became 19-16 after the Indian lost a video referral. At 20-16, Sun hit the nets but restored parity when Sindhu netted a backhand.
In the third game, both were locked in a battle for supremacy till 6-6. It is at this point that Sindhu’s game suddenly picked up a few notches. She started using the backhand drop and flick to deadly effect and suddenly Sun found herself 8-11 down at the break.
Sindhu continued to extend her lead even as Sun tried to vary the pace of the rallies but her errors continued to pile up as the Indian was soon 19-11 up.
Sun then misjudged a toss and Sindhu was 20-11 up. The Indian closed out the match with a drop and followed it up with a forehand half push that had the Chinese stranded in mid-court. What followed was a scream of utter joy.
PTI
