PV Sindhu’s late tweaks not enough as she exits in quarters
Before the start of the All England Open Championships, there was plenty expected from PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal. Sindhu had not gone past the second round of the tournament while Saina was expected to make a strong statement after injury.
Sindhu broke the first jinx when she entered the quarterfinals of the tournament for the first time while Saina also made progress.
This was the first time two Indian shuttlers were in the All England Open championships and many felt that something special could be on the cards.
However, it was not meant to be as Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying, the top-seeded World Super Series winner, defeated Sindhu 21-14, 21-10 to enter the semifinals. Things got worse for India as Saina was narrowly beaten 22-20, 22-20 by Sung Ji-hyun of Korea after leading 17-12 in the first game.
Speaking after the end of the match, Sindhu said, “Winning and losing are part of life. It was not my day. I have to come back stronger. It was a good experience. I had to adjust my game when I was down.”
Tai Tzu stated that she loves playing at the All England Open. “I feel very good with this performance. There were a lot of fans who were supporting me. I love to play in this tournament because the atmosphere here is great.”
Saina admitted that her comeback following a career-threatening knee surgery has become more difficult and added that she needed to improve her game tremendously after her loss to Sung.
Meanwhile, in the men’s draw, there was a mouth-watering clash in prospect with Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei, the two outstanding male players of the 21st century, playing each other in the semi-finals. Lee Chong Wei is the three times All-England Open champion while Lin Dan is a three-time Olympic champion. Speaking after his win over World Super Series champion Viktor Axelsen, Lin stated that he is just happy to perform on court ahead of his clash against Lee.
“I did not perform well in the first game. I played better in the second game. At this age, the fact that I can compete in the All England Championships on court makes me feel very happy,” Lin said.