SHARAD DEEP

JAKARTA: A different tournament but the same result for top Indian shuttler PV Sindhu at the Asian Games. She was up against world No 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei and a historic gold medal was within her reach, but Sindhu just didn’t arrive for the final bowing down meekly to Tai 13-21, 16-21 in just 34 minutes.

This was Sindhu’s third loss in a major final within a year, having lost to Saina Nehwal at the Commonwealth Games final and then the World Championship final to Spain’s Carolina Marin. She had also lost the finals at India Open and Thailand Open this year.

Even then Sindhu became the first ever Indian to win a badminton singles silver in the Asian Games. The last times India won a badminton singles medal at the Asian Games was 36 years ago when Syed Modi won bronze medal in men’s singles at the 1982 Games in New Delhi.

Much was expected of world No 3 Sindhu, especially after she beat Japan’s world No 2 Akane Yamaguchi in the semi-final on Monday. But the 23-year-old Hyderabadi surrendered without showing any grit and determination. Most of her shots were within Tai’s reach and the Taipei girl placed them well to earn points. Not once did Tai looked beatable on Tuesday.

Tai, 24, who plays for a local club in Kaohsiung City back home, kept rotating the shuttle well with perfect court covering. The experience of beating the Indian star at ease in the last five meetings before Tuesday’s encounter meant Tai had the upperhand even before the first point was played. Sindhu last defeated Tai in the Rio Olympics pre-quarterfinals in 2016.

Tai opened up a five-point lead straightaway, and though Sindhu made it 3-5 and then 7-11, but the world No 1 always kept her nose ahead. In the second game, even before Sindhu could come into her own after levelling the scores at 4-4, Tai was well within her target of gold as she quickly opened up a 11-7 lead. Tain did not have to push really

Monday’s loss was Sindhu’s fifth straight defeat in a final this year.

India’s total medal haul in badminton in Asian Games history (9 bronze, 1 silver).