Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu’s BWF title drought continued after she lost the Malaysia Masters final 21-16, 5-21, 16-21 to Wang Zhi Yi of China on Sunday (May 26).
The final didn’t start on a positive note for Sindhu as she found herself trialling by two points to none after Wang aced a superb smash to score the first point. The Hyderabad-born committed a service return error to concede a 2-0 lead.
However, the momentum swung dramatically as Sindhu aced a smash and caught Wang off-guard. The Indian shuttler then forced her Chinese opponent into making an error and took a 3-2 lead.
The ace Indian shuttler was able to connect her smashes with brute force and placed them adroitly in her opponent’s court to take a 6-4 lead. Unfazed by the repeated blows Wang kept pushing Sindhu before the latter secured a two-point lead 11-9 at the mid-game interval.
The 28-year-old Indian raced to a six-point lead (15-9) after the interval, controlling the rallies and targetting Wang’s body with her smashes. But just when it appeared that Sindhu was going to run away with the game Wang made a comeback and earned six points before the Indian shut the first game down 21-16.
Wang came roaring back in the second game and rattled Sindhu with her agility on the court. A few of Sindhu’s returns went long and it allowed the Chinese star to dominate the proceedings.
The world-ranked seven Chinese shuttler raced to the mid-game interval with an eight-point lead (11-3). The game resumed after the interval and Sindhu could only manage two more points before Wang sealed it with a statement of defiance 21-5.
Sindhu secured the first point of the third game after forcing play into the net and finishing it with a smash directed into Wang’s body. The highest-ranked Indian female shuttler didn’t look back from there and went into the mid-game interval leading 11-3.
However, Wang displayed extraordinary determination and scripted an amazing fightback to leave Sindhu gasping for breath. The Chinese shuttler reduced the deficit with every rally and gained six championship points.
Sindhu could never manage to come back from the onslaught and lost the third game 16-21.
