Arctic Open: PV Sindhu’s campaign ends after three-game defeat in the semifinals against Wang Zhi Yi | Badminton News
PV Sindhu went down in three games against China’s Wang Zhi Yi in the semifnal of the Arctic Open Super 500 tournament in Vantaa, Finland on Saturday.
In a rollercoaster match where both players had dominant streaks, Sindhu lost 12-21 21-11 7-21 in 63 minutes. This was Sindhu’s first defeat against Wang in their third meeting.
Sindhu came into the match less than 18 hours after her marathon 90-minute quarterfinal against Thuy Linh Nguyen of Vietnam. And perhaps that showed in the early stages of this contest against Wang, as the 2022 Asian Champion kept Sindhu moving to four corners and often catching her flat-footed. The smashes were well-timed when Sindhu was off balance and it was a comfortable opening game for the Chinese, ranked world No 11 at the moment. Most Read
1
When ex-ISRO chief was told to ‘get lost’ ISRO satellite centre
2
Israel-Hamas War News Live Updates: Two safe routes open for people leaving north Gaza, says Israel; Palestinian toll at 2,269
See More
Sindhu, who defeated Wang for her last title on the BWF World Tour at the Singapore Open last year, found her range in the second game. The roles had been reversed as Sindhu rained down smashes on Wang, both down-the-line and crosscourt, and the dialing up of the intenstiy bothered her no end. Sindhu even mixed it up with some clever half-smashes. And all that meant the second game was a canter for the Indian.
With it now evident that the far side was the better one to play attacking badminton from, it was imperative for Sindhu to start the decider well and make sure she didn’t have too big of a gap to catch up. But despite winning a couple of long rallies early on, Sindhu was once again put under pressure Wang’s attacks. And the Indian trailed 5-11 at the change of ends, making a comeback seem unlikely and so it proved to be.
Wang’s win set up an all-China final where she will face Han Yue. Sindhu was the last Indian standing at the event in Finland.
