It’s quite frustrating and sad: Sindhu rues simple errors after losing second straight Worlds final

World No 3 PV Sindhu said she was frustrated and sad after losing her second straight badminton world championships final on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Indian was defeated in straight games by Olympic champion Carolina Marin in the 2018 Worlds final in Nanjing, a year after narrowly losing to Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in Glasgow.

Sindhu was outpaced by Marin, who completely dictated the play throughout the 45-minute encounter on Sunday. The Olympic silver medallist was leading 14-9 in the first game but allowed her advantage to slip away, eventually losing the match 19-21, 10-21.

“Overall I could have played much better,” Sindhu told reporters after the match. “If I had won the first game, it would have been a bit different, is what I feel. In the second game I was making too many errors and she took a lead. My smashes were just going out. It was not my day.”

Sindhu also admitted that she got nervous after Marin started clawing her way back from 9-14 down in the first game. “I could have played much more patiently,” she said. “The rallies were going well, both of us were attacking. When I was leading I could have taken 2-3 more points and that would have made a difference. I made simple errors.”

The 23-year-old Hyderabadi said she was prepared for Marin’s speed and aggression but it just did not work out for her on the day. “I have to come back stronger,” she said. “I have to get back to my practice sessions and work out things. Sometimes it might not be your day but you have to be strong.”

On her second straight Worlds final defeat, Sindhu said, “It’s quite frustrating, quite sad. I was happy I came to the finals but winning and losing is part of life.”

‘Cannot describe my emotions’

Marin, meanwhile, said she was really happy after winning her third Worlds title. “I cannot describe my emotions right now. I have so many emotions inside. I have been preparing for this moment for a long time. I feel really, really happy that I could believe in myself during this week,” she said.

Despite dominating Sindhu, Marin said that she was at her peak during her quarter-final against Saina Nehwal on Friday. The Spaniard had won that match 21-6, 21-11. “I think the match against Saina was one of the best matches I’ve played in my career,” she said. “It’s not about how I played. It’s about how I prepared for the game against Saina. It’s about how I showed her that I really want to beat her.”

Asked how she fought back from 9-14 down against Sindhu in the first game, Marin said, “I just believed in myself during the game. I told myself in the first game when she was leading that I have to fight; I have to show her that she can’t beat me today. In the second game I was really strong from the beginning of the game. I just wanted to show that I really want to win the game.”

Marin feels she is back at her best after an average first half of the season, where she failed to get past the semi-finals of any tournament apart from the European championships, which she won. “It’s impossible to be at the top every time,” she said. “Sometimes a player has to go down and get back again. I feel I am coming back. I feel really confident in myself that I can win tournaments again. I just want to enjoy this medal.”

Marin will now go on a break until the end of August, before she participates in the Barcelona Open in front of her home crowd, before returning to Asia for the Japan Open and China Open. Sindhu, meanwhile, will head back to India to prepare for the Asian Games, starting on August 18.