CHENNAI: All heroes don't get happy endings. This popular sentiment is fitting for PV Sindhu, who was chasing history at the ongoing BWF World Championships in Paris on Friday. With hero status in India and world badminton for her contribution to the sport, if Sindhu had crossed her latest hurdle, it would also have been sort of a redemption for her. As had been the case for the last few days, the double Olympic medallist brought her warrior-like spirit to the grand stage and her goal was within her reach.
Despite the odds heavily stacked against her, it was her display of courage and iron will that had taken her this far. However, the Indian, who had been in the shadows before coming into the event, eventually ran out of steam against Indonesia's Putri Kusuma Wardani, her quarterfinal rival on the day, to agonisingly miss out on what would have been her sixth medal at the BWF Grade 1 event.
It was an epic contest, especially the deciding game, as the duo was involved in energy-sapping rallies. Wardani, who's one of the rising shuttlers in the circuit, comprehensively crushed the Indian in the opening game but it was a complete contrast in the second as Sindhu, with more aggression in her game, showed her big-game nous. It was a see-saw contest towards the closing stages with both fighting like gladiators to keep the crowd on the edge of their seats. But Wardani, in the mid-stages of the game, stepped up to build some gap (15-11) between herself and Sindhu before going on to close out the tie.
The final score read 21-14, 13-21, 21-16 in Wardani's favour. Sindhu was visibly crushed after the match. Wardani was teary-eyed, filled with emotions as she had secured her first-ever medal at the championships at Sindhu's expense.
After her eye-catching victory over World No 2 Wang Zhi Yi on Thursday, Sindhu was aware of the size of task ahead of her. "It's not over yet. I need to come back much stronger tomorrow (Friday) and be ready for everything," Sindhu had said in the post-match interview.
After a slow start on the day, she did display her steel and did show her readiness to adjust and fight for every point.
Following an early trade-off, Wardani started dictating terms by engaging Sindhu in quick rallies and putting the Indian in uncomfortable positions to eke out points.
With her technical precision, the Indonesian was manipulating the shuttle at will as Sindhu struggled to cope with the pace of the proceedings.
Sindhu's coach Irwansyah had plenty to say during the break as the Indian, visibly catching her breath, suffered a sound beating in the game. Irwansyah's words of encouragement seemed to have worked as Sindhu turned into a different beast in the second game. After a positive start, Sindhu turned on the heat with some good bit of aggression, landing some good smashes to edge ahead. The 30-year-old, having had enough time to read her opponent, seemed more ready to deal with long rallies, forcing Wardani to make errors on several occasions. She capitalised on that to restore parity but the Indonesian had enough in the tank to close out the match.
Her World Championships campaign might have come sooner than she would have liked but her overall experience could spark a new beginning for Sindhu. At least, that's what she would be hoping for, having been mostly a passenger for large parts of this season so far.
Near-miss for Dhruv-Tanisha
Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also suffered a heart-breaking loss earlier in the day. The mixed doubles pair from India, like Sindhu, needed just a win to clinch a medal. Up against World No 4 pairing of Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, the Indian combination put up a strong fight in the mid-stages of the opening game but eventually lost the contest 21-15, 21-13.
Nevertheless, this campaign is a step in the right direction for Dhruv and Tanisha, who have gradually been climbing the rankings in the last 12 months.
