Sindhu goes down fighting in Dubai
Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi got the better of her Indian rival in the summit clash.
dubai — “It’s hard,” PV Sindhu said and then she was lost for words, struggling to hold back the tears as she faced the media, minutes after losing a seesaw battle against the pint-sized Japanese star Akane Yamaguchi who fought for each point as though she was fighting for her life and eventually left her Indian rival with a broken heart.
Of course, it’s not unusual to see athletes cry. And Sunday brought back memories of a 20-year-old Juan Martin del Potro, the giant Argentinian who broke down in tears in his post-match press conference after a four-set quarterfinal defeat to Andy Murray in the 2008 US Open. “It didn’t matter how hard I hit those shots, he (Murray) was just like a wall, everything kept coming back to me,” Del Potro said, trying to make sense of a defeat that broke his heart.
Sindhu did better than Del Potro,
It’s been a good year for me. I ended the year with another silver medal. I have played a very good tournament here. I wish I had gone a bit further PV Sindhu, Indian player
though, as she miraculously regained her composure and analysed the points that stood between her and victory.
Of course, it’s hard to accept that you have lost a match you should have won. Sindhu, backed again by the singing, drum-beating Indian fans in the title decider of the Dubai World Superseries Finals, failed to make 5-0 and 4-0 starts count in the second and third sets after having made everyone drool over her shot-making ability in the first set.
When her 93-minute duel finally ended in 21-15, 12-21, 21-19 defeat, Sindhu admitted that it reminded her of her failure to clear the final hurdle in the Glasgow World Championships in August this year when she lost to Yamaguchi’s compatriot Nozomi Okuhara despite having two championship points in that engrossing 110-minute battle.
“Yes, of course it’s really hard because the same thing happened in the World Championships. But I think I have to let it go and it’s been a good year overall. And she played well. I would like to congratulate her,” the world number three said.
“It was anybody’s game after 19-all in the third set. I could have done something different at that point of time but there were really long rallies where she won some really big points. But there is this feeling now that reminds me of the world championships. It’s not a nice feeling, but these things happen in sports,” she added.
Despite her third straight defeat in a big final after Rio and Glasgow, Sindhu said she would look at the brighter side once the emotional wounds heal. “It’s been a good year for me. I ended the year with another silver medal. I have played a very good tournament here. I wish I had gone a bit further,” the 22-year-old player said.
“But ups and downs are always there in sports. I know the mistakes I made and the areas I need to work on. So I will prepare well for the next year keeping those things in mind. I need to learn from my mistakes.”
Yamaguchi, who suffered a 21-9, 21-13 defeat in the group stage against Sindhu, was a different player on Sunday as she delivered a tactical masterclass to upset the gifted Indian.
“I always knew that this match would be tougher than the group game,” Sindhu said.
“I actually kept that group match out my mind coming into today’s final. I just left that match behind and tried to focus on this match. But it was not my day. So, congratulations to her. She played well.”
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com