Sindhu wins another thriller, enters semis
BIRMINGHAM: Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu says losing close matches from advantageous position dealt a blow to her confidence and she is looking to overcome it by working on the mental aspect of her game.
In a re-match of the epic Glasgow World Championships final, Sindhu saw off Nozomi Okuhara 20-22, 21-18, 21-18 in the pulsating clash that lasted one hour and 24 minutes to enter the semi-finals of the All England Championships. She faces Akane Yamaguchi next. “It was like the World Championships and Dubai Super Series match, not so long may be but it was not easy to play against Okuhara. We know each other’s game so there were long rallies. We had to give our best,” Sindhu said.
Sindhu achieved unprecedented success in the last couple of years but she also suffered some heart-breaking losses in the finals of 2016 Rio Olympics, 2017 World Championship, 2017 Dubai Super Series Final and India Open this year.
“I have lost matches where I was leading. I know when you lose such matches it hits you, physically and mentally, but we have to come back stronger to ensure that it doesn’t happen again,” Sindhu said after scoring a thrilling win over Japan’s Okuhara.
“I have been working on my mental game. My coaches have been telling me, because sometimes I find when I hit out or tap to the net, when you actually have to get points, I lose confidence and get nervous. So they tell me ‘let it be, it’s over.’ I have been practising that and I think I am getting better,” she added.
SRIKANTH ANGRY
Star shuttler Kidambi Srikanth was disappointed after being called for a series of what he termed “ridiculous” service faults during his pre-quarterfinal match against China’s Huang Yuxiang at the All England Championship.
World no 3 Srikanth lost 11-21, 21-15, 20-22 to the unseeded Chinese at the Arena Birmingham here in a 52-minute battle last night to crash out.
“There were too many service faults in the opening game. I didn’t expect that to happen. Yesterday I didn’t get even one, today it was totally changed. That should not happen in a tournament. There should be a specific rule,” Srikanth said.