Sindhu loses, Chennai Smashers go down on a forgettable day
LUCKNOW: World No 3 and Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu has a huge fan following here. She has done well on most occasions in Lucknow, including winning last year’s Syed Modi Grand Prix International Gold title.
But the Chennai Smashers player went down fighting to world No 6 Sung Ji Hyun of Delhi Dashers 15-11, 13-15, 14-15 in a Premier Badminton League encounter on Wednesday to allow the Delhi outfit win the tie 3-0 against the defending champions.
It was a forgettable day for Chennai Smashers, who had to concede the last match of the tie after Gabrielle Adcock suffered an ankle injury midway through the first game. The match, which would have decided the outcome of the contest, could not be completed as Gabrielle twisted her ankle. Playing in their trump match, Gabrielle and Chris were trailing 5-6 when they conceded the match. Sung Ji, who had lost to Sindhu on both occasions in 2017, exacted sweet revenge. In a battle of equals in this marquee clash, Sindhu saved three match points before Sung Ji prevailed.
It was the lanky Indian who asserted early domination by taking an 8-6 lead at the interval in the first game. She used the length of the court very well and tormented Sung Ji throughout with her deceptive cross-court drop. In the second game, Sung Ji tried to force Sindhu on to the back-foot by engaging her in long rallies. The Korean, who has faced Sindhu on several occasions in the past, got better as the match progressed and even though Sindhu tried her best to wrap up the proceedings, Sung Ji drew level to send the match into the decider.