PV Sindhu slumps to her second defeat in BWF World Tour Finals
Both PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth are yet to win a match in the ongoing BWF World Tour Finals.
India’s PV Sindhu suffered her second straight loss at the BWF World Tour Finals in Bangkok after going down to Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon 21-18, 21-13.
PV Sindhu, who had tamely submitted to Intanon at the Toyota Thailand Open quarter-finals last week, put up a much better fight against the Thai player in her women’s singles Group B match but couldn’t avoid another straight-game loss
In the first game, PV Sindhu raced off the blocks and took a five-point advantage into the first mid-game break of the match.
The Indian world No. 7 made good use of her long reach in the early period to return everything Ratchanok Intanon sent her way and took full advantage of any loose shots from the Thai player.
Ratchanok Intanon, however, picked up her pace after the restart and nullified the Indian’s lead to bring the score level at 14-14. The world No. 5 made the most of her momentum and took the first game 21-18.
In the do-or-die second game, PV Sindhu tried hard to disrupt Ratchanok Intanon’s flow with her power game, but the Thai shuttler looked at ease and continued dictating the play against her Indian opponent.
The Thai comfortably wrapped up the second game 21-13 to pick up her first win of the BWF World Tour Finals.
It wasn’t my day. Losing the first game made the difference. My timing was a bit off, so a bit disappointed. I will have to win against Pornpawee tomorrow. I’ve played her a long time ago, it was three games and she won 21-19 in the third game. She’s a good player and played well against Ratchanok yesterday. - PV Sindhu
Having lost both her matches in the BWF World Tour Finals, PV Sindhu’s chances of making the semi-finals look slim at best. Even if she wins her third match against Pornpawee Chochuwong, her progress will depend heavily on other results.
Kidambi Srikanth loses to Wang Tzu Wei
Kidambi Srikanth, meanwhile, lost his men’s singles Group B match 21-19, 9-21, 19-21 to Chinese Taipei’s Wang Tzu Wei.
After a neck-and-neck opening phase, Kidambi Srikanth started to break away post the mid-game break and built up a commanding 18-13 lead with the help of some intelligent shuttle placement. Wang Tzu Wei did put up some late resistance to claw his way back, but the Indian kept his cool and wrapped up the first game 21-19.
The Chinese Taipei player, though, came roaring back in the second game and held his advantage throughout to win it 21-9.
The decider turned out to be a topsy-turvy affair with the momentum shifting consistently between the two players. Towards the business end, Kidambi Srikanth managed to save three match points to bring the score to 20-19, but Wang Tzu Wei picked up the vital last point under pressure to win the match 2-1.
Heading into the match, Kidambu Srikanth held a flawless 3-0 head-to-head record against Wang Tzu Wei.
The loss virtually knocks Kidambi Srikanth out of the contention to make it to the semi-finals. He plays his final group match against Hong Kong’s NG Ka Long Angus on Friday.
Lead photo: Badmintonphoto - Courtesy of BWF