Reigning world champion PV Sindhu’s hopes of securing an Olympic gold ended with a straight-game defeat against world no 1 Tai Tzu Ying in the women’s singles semi-finals on Saturday, but hope for a bronze remains at the Tokyo Olympics.
The shuttler from Chinese Taipei gathered steam and played a stunning match to not give the Indian any chance of a comeback in a 21-18, 21-12 win. Sindhu played her heart out but she couldn’t counter the versitabality that her opponent brought in the latter stages of the match.
Tokyo 2020 PV Sindhu vs Tai Tzu Ying semi-final as it happened: Tai wins in straight games
The 26-year-old silver-medallist from the Rio Games will be competing against China’s He Bing Jiao in the third place play-off on Sunday.
The world No 1 tried to play an aggressive game, cramping Sindhu with her sharp returns from near the net. The Indian couldn’t counter Tai’s deception with her aggressive game, slumping to her 14th loss to the Taiwanese second seed.
The two played some exquisite rallies with Sindhu equalling her opponent and also unleashing a few smashes to lead the opening game for most parts. She entered the interval with a healthy 11-8 lead. But the second seed bounced back and elevated her level to take the lead and grab the first game.
It was all Tai’s way after that.
Here’s a look at some of the reactions to Sindhu’s loss:
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