PV Sindhu had to settle for silver at World Championships. (Source: AP)
PV Sindhu had a chance to become India’s first ever world champion in badminton but let it slip when she lost her final of women’s singles in World Badminton Championships in Glasgow. In a gripping final, Sindhu went down 19-21 22-20 20-22 against Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara. The Indian said that she was upset after the loss and both players were playing equally hard for the gold medal.
“It was anybody’s game. It’s upsetting to lose, but you can’t say anything at the end of such a match. It was never over from both sides. The third game went to 20-all. Every point was tough and we were both not getting go. Obviously anybody would aim for a gold because this is the final of the World Championship, but that last moment changed everything,” she said.
For her opponent, Sindhu said she always knew the Japan player was going to be tough and she was prepared to go for a long match against her.
“I’ve always known she was never easy. And we would never leave the shuttle. I’ve always played long matches against her and was prepared for this. But in the end, it could’ve been anyone. It was her,” she added.
The Rio Olympic silver medallist also said that there were many tough rallies in the match and it was difficult to tell which was the toughest.
“I don’t think it was the toughest rally of the match. Many rallies after that were long. We were both tired but we were both picking the shuttle from impossible positions. It was like we were just taking it no matter what. Since there were so many, I can’t recall that particular one. It was actually a very good match, just not my day.”
Explaining what was the things that she could takeaway from the match, Sindhu said that she always backed herself in long matches but it was Okukara’s day on Sunday.
“We both believed in ourselves. I used to always back myself in long matches. But today maybe even she believed in herself. It was good overall. With this confidence I know I’ll learn much more going forward. Both physically and mentally this was a tough match, with those long tosses and drops. I finaly realised she’s never gonna leave,” she said.
