Sindhu , Saina knocked out
Indian challenge at All England Open ends as singles stars lose in quarterfinals
silver medallist P V Sindhu failed to overcome world No 1 and top seed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei and crashed out of the All England Championship with a straightgame loss in the quarterfinals of the Super Series premier event here on Friday. Later, Saina Nehwal too was eliminated after losing to Sung Ji Hyun.
World No 5 Sindhu, who had beaten Tai Tzu en route to her Rio Games silver, was erratic and couldn’t break the defence of the Chinese Taipei shuttler, to go down 14-21, 10-21 in 34 minutes at the Barclaycard Arena. With this win, Tai Tzu entered her third successive semifinals of the prestigious tournament.
In the first game, Sindhu opened up a 10-7 lead but Tai Tzu fought back with her deceptive cross court returns to not only draw level but also take the lead with another acute angled stroke on Sindhu’s backhand.
Tai Tzu engaged in a fierce rally but it ended with Sindhu hitting the net. A sharp drop shot from back of court helped Sindhu to draw parity. But the Chinese Taipei player managed to surge to a 17-12 lead with the Indian hitting wide and long and at the nets.
Sindhu tried to change the pace but Tai Tzu was always a step ahead and she eventually earned the bragging rights when the Indian lost a video referral.
After the change of ends, Tai Tzu once again opened up a 6-2 lead with Sindhu’s strokes going to the net. The Indian was good but Tai Tzu was better. The Chinese Taipei player’s movement and accuracy, timing and variety of strokes made her a difficult customer to tame. And, Tai Tzu soon marched to a 8-3 lead.
Tai Tzu followed her strokes well and was also fast in approaching the net. She played with soft hands at the net and caught up the Indian at the fore court to gather points. Soon she was 11-5 up. After the breather, Tai Tzu continued to gather points with her superb footwork and strokes even though Sindhu did pocket a few points here and there, but she was largely erratic with many strokes going long.
Nehwal lost in straight games to be knocked out by world No 3 Ji Hyun. The South Korean beat Nehwal for the second time in eight clashes, winning 22-20, 22-20 in a 53-minute battle.