Not nervousness, it was just not my day: Sindhu after World Championship final defeat
On multiple occasions, Marin fired off her serves and Sindhu just expressed her inability to receive, saying she was yet to get into proper position.
Published: 06th August 2018 01:35 AM | Last Updated: 06th August 2018 06:50 AM | A+A A-
Pusarla V. Sindhu of India reacts while competing against Carolina Marin of Spain in their women's badminton championship match at the BWF World Championships in Nanjing, China, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018. | AP
HYDERABAD: In badminton, interruptions from chair umpires are not frequent. However, in the women’s singles final of the World Championships, there were five, with the umpire even threatening yellow cards to both the shuttlers during the fag end of the match.
The umpire’s point of contention was the delay in between points due to PV Sindhu not being completely ready in time to receive Carolina Marin’s serves.
On multiple occasions, Marin fired off her serves and Sindhu just expressed her inability to receive, saying she was yet to get into proper position.
“Sometimes, she served while I was getting ready to receive. She was hurriedly serving without seeing whether I was ready or not,” Sindhu told Express from Nanjing, China.
Sindhu denied that the episode caused a lapse in concentration but was critical of the way Marin served.
“Sometimes these things happen, it is all in the match. It did not create pressure on me but the chair umpire was repeatedly warning us. He was telling me to be faster. There were some issues here and there. I think she could have taken a bit more time while serving. That was not the right way to do it, I felt,” said Sindhu.
The Spaniard’s fast-paced game had troubled every player who faced her. Sindhu said she had prepared for it and was not surprised by the ‘lightning’ speed of the only women’s singles three-time World Champion. “I was ready for her speed because I had seen her matches in the tournament. She was quite quick but I had come prepared for it,” said Sindhu, who became the only Indian with four podium finishes at the Worlds.
Despite losing eight major finals since her silver-medal winning performance in Rio, she maintains that she does not get cold feet in summit clashes.
“There were no nerves because of the final. After leading 14-9 in the first game, if I could have won, the second game would have been completely different. Overall, it was a good tournament for me, played some good matches though I had a tough draw. Today, it was just not my day.”
vishal@newindianexpress.com
