Super Sindhu ends long wait for first world title

PV Sindhu has won India's first badminton world title in spectacular fashion in Basel, Switzerland.

In a rematch of the 2017 BWF World Championship final, the Olympic silver medallist dismantled Japan's Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 to clinch a long-awaited global crown.

It was the most one-sided women's singles final since the 21-point game was introduced in 2006.

Creating history

Sindhu suffered heartbreak as she went down to her Japanese rival in an epic 2017 final in Glasgow which lasted an hour and 50 minutes, the second-longest women's singles match in history.

This was a very different match from that thrilling slugfest.

The 24-year-old raced into an 8-1 lead with Okuhara appearing to be feeling the effects of her tough semi-final win over Ratchanok Intanon.

That became 11-2 at the mid-game interval and Sindhu continued to apply pressure, pushing Okuhara deep and forcing her into committing errors on her returns.

She clinched the first game 21-7 and the second game followed the same script.

Okuhara was chasing shadows and, while her game at the net was up to its usual high standard, she just could not trouble the Indian with her shots from the deep.

After winning a 28-shot rally to go 3-1 ahead, Sindhu had her opponent on the stretch continuously and went into a 16-4 lead to all but clinch the title.

While Okuhara tried her best to come back, Sindhu would not be denied as she made it third time lucky in world finals.

After 38 minutes, it was all over with the Hyderabad native raising her hands to her heavens after finally securing the title her talent deserved.

India celebrates

Indian team-mate and long-time rival Saina Nehwal was one of the first to congratulate Sindhu on social media.

Her greetings were followed by an array of celebratory tweets from Indian sporting stars and celebrities.

No stopping Momota

After Okuhara's disappointment, Kento Momota gave the Japanese supporters reason to cheer as he retained his title in style.

Fifth seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark took an early 5-1 lead but it was one-way traffic after that as the left-hander put on a clinic.

Momota was at his brutal best as he won 21-9, 21-3 in just 37 minutes, the most one-sided final in World Championships history.