Sindhu wins thriller; Srikanth loses
dubai — In wHAt wAs tHE most CompEllInG GAmE oF tHE opEnInG DAy, InDIA’s GolDEn GIrl PV SInDHu BEAt rIsInG CHInEsE stAr HE BInGJIAo 21-11, 16-21, 21-18 to stArt HEr DuBAI WorlD SupErsErIEs FInAls CAmpAIGn on A posItIvE notE.
At tHE DrAw For tHE tournAmEnt on MonDAy, tHE 22-yEAr-olD InDIAn sHuttlEr sAID sHE wAs ExpECtInG touGH mAtCHEs In tHE sEAsonEnDInG FInAlE At tHE HAmDAn Sports ComplEx.
But wHEn tHE Group A GAmE stArtED on WEDnEsDAy, tHErE wAs notHInG tHE tAlEntED CHInEsE CoulD Do to stop tHE BrIllIAnt InDIAn. THE RIo OlympICs sIlvEr mEDAllIst wAs In sCIntIllAtInG Form AGAInst HEr Error-pronE rIvAl As sHE took tHE first sEt In Just 14 mInutEs.
But BInGJIAo, wHo HAD A 3-3 HEAD-to-HEAD rECorD AGAInst tHE InDIAn GoInG Into WEDnEsDAy’s EnCountEr, HIt BACk In rEmArkABlE FAsHIon In tHE sEConD sEt, quICkly tAkInG A 4-0 lEAD.
SInDHu’s ABIlIty to DEFEnD wEll AnD HEr wIllInGnEss to fiGHt For EvEry poInt kEpt HEr In tHE sEt, But BInGJIAo nEvEr GAvE HEr A CHAnCE to tAkE tHE mAtCH In two sEts.
In tHE tHIrD, It wAs AGAIn BInGJIAo wHo HAD tHE uppEr HAnD wItH An EArly 5-2 lEAD, sEnDInG pAnIC wAvEs AmonG tHE InDIAn spECtAtors At tHE HAmDAn Sports ComplEx.
SInDHu, HowEvEr, DuG DEEp Into HEr rEsErvEs, mAkInG HEr rIvAl plAy tHE ExtrA sHots As sHE EnGAGED HEr In somE lonG rAllIEs. THE trICk workED As sHE wrEstlED BACk tHE InItIAtIvE to tAkE A CommAnDInG 13-8 lEAD.
But tHIs wAsn’t A BAttlE For tHE FAInt-HEArtED As tHE 20-yEAr-olD BInGJIAo kEpt ComInG BACk, sHowInG HEr InCrEDIBlE skIlls AnD wIll powEr. In tHE EnD tHouGH, SInDHu’s ExpErIEnCE CAmE to tHE ForE As sHE ClInCHED tHE DrAmAtIC opEnInG GAmE In onE Hour AnD Four mInutEs.
“I wAs nErvous In tHE FIrst sEt, But I plAyED wEll In tHE nExt two. I HAD my CHAnCEs In tHE mAtCH, But unFortunAtEly I CoulDn’t tAkE tHEm. It wAs A vEry ClosE mAtCH,” BInGJIAo lAtEr tolD rEportErs.
WHIlE SInDHu GAvE InDIAn FAns rEAsons to smIlE, HEr CompAtrIot KIDAmBI SrIkAntH Just CoulDn’t CopE wItH tHE BrIllIAnCE oF worlD CHAmpIon AnD DEFEnDInG DuBAI WorlD SupErsErIEs FInAls CHAmpIon VIktor AxElsEn In HIs opEnInG mAtCH In Group B.
THE DAnE wAs too GooD For tHE 24-yEAr-olD InDIAn As HE won HIs first mAtCH In strAIGHt sEts 21-13, 21-17 In Just 38 mInutEs.
“I wAsn’t ABlE to plAy my BEst GAmE toDAy AnD mADE somE sIlly mIstAkEs,” A DIsAppoIntED SrIkAntH
i was nervous in the first set, but i played well in the next two. i had my chances in the match sAID AFtEr tHE mAtCH.
SrIkAntH CAmE Into tHE sEAsonEnDInG finAlE In DuBAI In rED-Hot Form, wInnInG Four SupErsErIEs tItlEs tHIs yEAr. But unFortunAtEly For tHE InDIAn FAns, HE CoulDn’t rEplICAtE tHAt Form AGAInst tHE worlD’s top-rAnkED stAr on WEDnEsDAy.
MEAnwHIlE, MAlAysIAn vEtErAn LEE CHonG WEI EAsIly won HIs first mAtCH AGAInst KA LonG AnGus oF HonG KonG 21-14, 21-13 In tHE sEConD mEn’s sInGlEs GAmE oF tHE DAy.
In tHE first GAmE, CHInEsE SHI YuqI BEAt TAIwAn’s CHou TIEn CHEn 21-19, 21-17.
In womEn’s sInGlEs, top-rAnkED JApAnEsE stAr AkAnE YAmAGuCHI BEAt HEr CompAtrIot SAyAkA SAto 21-12, 21-19 AnD RAtCHAnok IntAnon oF THAIlAnD won HEr opEnInG GAmE AGAInst SunG JI Hyun oF SoutH KorEA 21-19, 21-16.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com