Glasgow: PV Sindhu’s gallant effort to become India’s first ever World Champion ended in a heart-wrenching defeat against Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in an epic final, here Sunday.
In the longest match of the tournament Sindhu lost 19-21, 22-20, 20-22 after battling hard for one hour and 49 minutes. After closing the second game by winning an incredible 73-shot rally, Sindhu saved one championship point in the decider but it was the Rio Olympic bronze medallist who had the last laugh.
For India, it still is a historic edition since for the first time country’s shuttler are returning with two medals. Saina Nehwal won a bronze Sunday after losing her semifinal. Sindhu, who had won bronze twice in the 2013 and 2014 editions, thus became only the second Indian to win a silver medal after Saina Nehwal had achieved the feat in the last edition at Jakarta in 2015.
Sindhu, seeded fourth, was a little sluggish to start with and was 3-5 at one point but she managed to reel off eight points on the trot to grab an 11-5 lead at the break. Okuhara continued to move ahead, reaching 18-14 after winning 10 of the 13 points after the interval. However, the Japanese committed a few unforced errors, which helped Sindhu to level par at 19-19. Sindhu, then sent one to the net to hand over the game point to Okuhara, who pocketed the opening game when the Indian hit long.
After the change of side, Okuhara struggled to control her lifts and also miscued a few shots as Sindhu led 5-1 when her rival’s smash found the net. Sindhu made some sound judgements at the baseline and tried to be patient on the court to extend the lead to 9-3.
However, Sindhu failed to reach for a low forehand return at forecourt and sent the shuttle wide thrice as Okuhara reached 7-9 before unleashing a down the line smash. A net error stopped Okuhara’s run as Sindhu eventually held a 11-8 lead at the interval when her rival again went wide.
After the change of sides, Okuhara erased the deficit with a backhand body smash and a forehand return. They moved neck and neck till 17-17 before the Indian grabbed a 19-17 lead when Okuhara hit wide. The Japanese produced a perfect cross court reverse slice and then unleashed another cross court smash to once again level par.
A net error from Sindhu handed a match point to Okuhara but the Indian saved it after winning another long rally, following a bad leave at the baseline by Okuhara. The Japanese grabbed the match point again when Sindhu found the net and she used it this time with a perfect return on Sindhu’s backhand to become the first shuttler from her country to win the World Championship.
press trust of india