HEARTBREAK
PV Sindhu endured a defeat by the flawless Tai Tzu Ying, who clinically dealt with the Indian’s powerful smashes to claim a close first game 21-18 and picked up pace in the second to win 21-12. Still, Sindhu will fight once again on Sunday, this time against China’s He Bing Jiao for a bronze
NEW DELHI/TOKYO: Hours after becoming world champion two years ago, PV Sindhu said that her come-from-behind quarterfinal victory against a certain Tai Tzu Ying “gave her the confidence” to go on and win the event, beating the then reigning All-England champion Chen Yufei in the semis, and then hammering former world champion Nozomi Okuhara to become India’s first and only world champion.
The Rio 2016 silver medallist was up against Tai Tzu once again, this time at the Tokyo Olympics. But on Saturday, there was no getting past the world No 1 player from Chinese Taipei. Sindhu was outplayed in all departments 21-18, 21-12 in 40 minutes in the semi-finals at the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza.
“I’m a bit sad because it’s the semi-finals, but I tried my best,” said Sindhu.
Though world No.7 Sindhu beat her in the last Olympics in the Round of 16, Tai Tzu has come a long way since to perhaps become the most complete and consistent player at the moment. World No.1 for the longest time and a three-time All-England champion, the reigning Asian Games gold medallist has had the upper hand in battles against Sindhu, now extending her head-to-head record to 14-5. Tai Tzu has also won all four meetings against Sindhu since the loss at the 2019 World Championships in Basel and has conquered every event there is apart from a major—Olympics or World Championship—driving her desire to finally triumph at the biggest stage of all.
Tai Tzu dominated despite Sindhu leading for most of the first game. Trying to reach her second straight Olympic final, Sindhu was neck-and-neck in the first game but just could not match the balance, poise and precision of Tai Tzu. “Tai Tzu just outclassed Sindhu,” said former chief national coach U Vimal Kumar from Bengaluru. “She was right on top. Sindhu did not take much initiative at the net. In the first game, even though she had the lead, she was always content just lifting the shuttle to the back. When you are against the drift she could have been a little more aggressive. That didn’t happen.”
In the second game, Tai Tzu began to produce astonishing angles, her placements both deceptive and precise.