Sindhu outclassed at Swiss Open
WORLD Champion PV Sindhu finished a distant second in the Swiss Open final after being completely routed by Olympic gold medallist Carolina Marin of Spain in a lop-sided women’s singles title clash in Basel last Sunday (7).
The 25-year-old Indian, who had won the coveted World Championship gold medal at the same venue in 2019, couldn’t match the speed and accuracy of top seed Marin during the 12-21 5-21 defeat in the final that lasted only 35 minutes.
It was Sindhu’s third successive loss to Marin, who had won both the Super 1000 events in Thailand in January before finishing runners-up at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals.
Sindhu, who was playing her first final in 18 months, seemed completely clueless against a rampaging Marin, who outclassed the Indian with her pace, power and precision during the summit clash.
Sindhu, who had shifted her training base to London for a few months last year, couldn’t make a successful return when international badminton resumed in January following the coronavirus-induced break.
The Indian was knocked out in the opening round of the Yonex Thailand Open, before she managed to reach the quarterfinals at the Toyota Thailand Open.
Sindhu also failed to qualify for the knockout stage at the World Tour Final after losing two out of the three matches in the group stage.
She will next compete at the $850,000 All England Championships, a Super 1000 event to be held from March 17 to 21.