New Delhi: For 88 minutes of unrelenting intensity, PV Sindhu left every ounce of energy on the court, pushing her 31-year-old body through a punishing physical grind. Backed by a roaring home crowd at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Thursday, the ninth-seeded Indian seemed primed to pull off another memorable win at the BWF World Championships.
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Yet, in a chaotic and bitterly contested deciding game, it was not just third seed Wang Zhi Yi’s strokeplay that derailed Sindhu’s march towards a historic sixth Worlds medal — it was a couple of momentum-killing medical timeouts taken by her cramping Chinese opponent that decisively shattered the Indian’s rhythm at the death.
Sindhu fought tooth and nail in a gruelling pre-quarterfinal before going down 11-21, 21-15, 17-21. The defeat ended Sindhu’s flawless 8-0 career record against Chinese shuttlers at the World Championships and brought down the curtains on India’s singles challenge in both men’s and women’s draws.
Despite the heartbreak, Sindhu’s performance was an inspiring exhibition of elite conditioning, improved recovery methods and tactical resilience. After being caught cold in the opening game, where Wang’s immaculate deception and dominant net play had Sindhu scrambling in a swift 11-21 reversal, the two-time Olympic medallist mounted a fierce fightback.
In the second game, Sindhu found her length, hitting deep to the baseline, carving out sharper angles and using her signature attacking smashes to level the match 21-15.
The third game was a humdinger, with neither player yielding an inch. But as the physical toll mounted, the match veered into controversy. With the contest locked in a tense standoff, Wang began cramping severely, twice seen writhing in pain on the side of the court. Both at 16-16 and 18-17, extended medical timeouts brought play to a grinding halt. The breaks snapped Sindhu’s momentum just as she was tightening the screws.
Sindhu was forthright after the match about how the stoppages impacted her rhythm.
“I don’t know if she (Wang) is injured or not, maybe that is her strategy or her way of doing it. You never know. Maybe that’s her gameplay, but I had to be very patient and focus on every point. The last three points just changed the game, is what I felt. I should have been a little patient,” Sindhu said.
The day turned out to be an anti-climax for India’s singles contingent. Earlier, 21-year-old Ayush Shetty suffered a tame 19-21, 11-21 defeat against Indonesian nemesis Alwi Farhan in the men’s singles pre-quarterfinals.
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