Okuhara outlasts Sindhu to win World Championships
Glasgow — Olympic 2016 silver medallist PV Sindhu failed to bring India the elusive gold medal from the World Badminton Championships edged out by Japanese seventh seed Nozomi Okuhara in a pulsating women’s singles final here on Sunday.
Fourth seed Sindhu lost 19-21, 22-20, 20-22 against the Olympic 2016 bronze medallist Okuhara in a gruelling match that lasted an hour and 50 minutes at the Emirates Arena.
It was Sindhu’s third medal at the World Championships, with a bronze apiece from the 2013 and 2014 editions in her bag.
Sindhu’s Hyderabadi citymate Saina Nehwal also stood on the podium after losing in the semifinals, settling for a bronze medal as India bagged two medals for the first time in an edition of the World Championships.
Saina also has a silver from the 2015 edition and in Glasgow, Sindhu became India’s only second player with a second-place finish in the global badminton showpiece.
India’s first medal from the World Championships, a bronze medal, came via Prakash Padukone in the 1983 edition.
Sindhu on Sunday gave herself a great chance to end India’s quest of a maiden world title but fell short against Okuhara, who was the first Japanese to reach the women’s singles final.
Okuhara kept coming back at Sindhu and didn’t allow the Indian to dictate the pace of shuttle play. Especially during rallies, Okuhara had more energy and pace to prevail.
Okuhara’s fast-paced game also curbed Sindhu’s aggressive strokes, denting the Indian’s chances of scoring winners.
Sindhu started strongly, holding an 11-6 lead at the mid-game break. After the break, Okuhara staged a remarkable comeback to equalise at 14-point mark and forced Sindhu to commit errors as the Japanse led 18-14. Sindhu equalised at this point but Okuhara took the game 21-19.
In the second game too, Sindhu had early advantage, taking a 9-3 lead but a fighting Okuhara trailed only by a three-point difference at the mid-game break. —