Link: https://scroll.in/field/889322/badm...ere-but-she-still-could-not-avoid-marins-trap Badminton Worlds: For Sindhu, the signs were all there but she still couldn’t avoid Marin’s trap The 23-year-old lost a tactical battle against the Olympic champion to succumb to her second straight world championship final defeat. AFP Jaideep Vaidya Carolina Marin laid the trap. PV Sindhu resisted it for as long as she could, but then succumbed. The women’s singles final of the 2018 badminton world championships was played up as a potential classic, a la the Rio Olympics final between these shuttlers two years ago. But it turned out to be damp squib as the Olympic champion from Spain completely dominated, outpaced and outclassed her Indian counterpart. The warning signs were all there for Sindhu prior to the match. She would have watched her compatriot Saina Nehwal get bulldozed by the Spaniard in their quarter-final. She would have watched Marin go a game down against China’s He Bingjiao in the semi-finals but keep up her zippy and aggressive play, along with her never-say-die attitude, and eventually come out on top. “I feel I am one of the best players in the world in terms of speed,” Marin had said after beating Nehwal. “I could control the game with my strategy.” Sindhu had her share of warnings, but still could not avoid the trap on Sunday. Marin has one go-to strategy: to rush her opponents and dictate the pace of the match. She did the exact same thing against Sindhu, who is also an aggressive and physical player like her. There were at least six instances during the final when Sindhu made Marin retake her serve, claiming she wasn’t ready. “She has to be ready,” Marin told the umpire when she was trailing 9-14 in the first game. “She is delaying the game. You have to tell her.” Sindhu just smiled. Perhaps that was one of her tactics – to slow the Spaniard down. Losing the tactical battle However, what the Indian should have done is tried to slow Marin down during play, rather than between points. To take that lead in the first game, she had played softer strokes to avoid the Spaniard’s fast punching game. She had let Marin make errors as she wen quite a few times. But even at 9-14 down, Marin had not given up – and she had no plans to. After working on her mental toughness for three weeks leading up the Worlds, Marin was not going to let a five-point deficit distract her. Against Bingjiao in the semis, she started the second game with the confidence of a player who had won the first comprehensively. Against Sindhu, again, she did the same. After Sindhu’s lead was reduced to 15-13, India’s chief national coach Pullela Gopichand was heard telling his protégé to go for slower drops, in a bid to mix it up. Sindhu ended up getting a warning from the umpire for again not being ready for Marin’s serve, and then hit her cross-court smash into the net. At 15-14, Sindhu asked for a new shuttle, but Marin refused, gesturing to the umpire that she was perfectly happy with the one in her hand. Sindhu ended up flicking her service return wide. The tactical war was beginning to tilt towards the Spaniard. Marin, then, went into the lead with a body smash and flashed a huge smile Sindhu’s way. At 18-18, Sindhu got an official caution from the umpire for again not being ready to receive Marin’s serve. The Olympic champion then won the next two points with a brilliant cross-court overhead slice before Sindhu completely miscued a lift to hand Marin two game-point opportunities. The Indian saved one of them but a booming cross-court smash from Marin won her the game, as she let out a louder-than-usual shriek. The tactical war had almost been won. Opportunity lost The second game was just a blur, as Marin romped home 21-10 before sinking to her knees and crying. After a rather average first half of the season – by her standards – where she had failed to go past the semi-finals of all tournaments she played in except the European championships, not many would have expected her to win her third World title. But she did not care. She was in the zone mentally throughout the tournament and nothing could shake her out of it. “I cannot describe my emotions right now,” said Marin after the match. “I have been preparing for this moment for a long time. I feel really, really happy that I could believe in myself during this week.” For Sindhu, this was definitely an opportunity lost to win the gold, especially after how she had dominated her two Japanese nemeses, Nozomi Okuhara and Akane Yamaguchi in the quarters and semis. Even the title favourite, Tai Tzu Ying, had been cleared out of the way early. This was a golden opportunity, pun intended. She had to keep Marin guessing, mix things up, and not let her find her rhythm. Instead, Sindhu allowed her own rhythm to slip away as she fell straight into Marin’s trap. This was not a choke, as some of Sindhu’s critics might say. This was simply a crushing tactical defeat.
Sindhu's latest words "Never give up, never give in, and when the upper hand is ours, may we have the ability to handle the win with the dignity that we absorbed the loss - Dough Williams". "It brings me an immense amount of pleasure to bring back the silver consecutively 2 Nd year in the BWF world championships. I didn't lose the gold, I won the silver and I can proudly say my silver sparkles."
I really don't understand these choke comments or that "it was tactical defeat". Newspapers and some coaches also speculated if Sindhu had won the first game she would have won gold. To me this match played very similar to olympics final. Marin is setting the tempo and Sindhu was just reacting, Marin did that against every opponent in world championships as well. How could Sindhu change tactics if she is behind in every rally after first 2-3 shots? She was simply outplayed, not choking at all. Looks like gap between Marin and Sindhu is bigger than 2 years ago. Last years world championships final was very even, could have gone either way but maybe Okuhara deserved it as she was more active player in the end. In Rio Sindhu won first game thanks to Marin's unforced errors, but what difference did it make? Nothing. I don't see how it would have changed anything this time either. Marin lost one game to He Bingjiao but easily won the next two.
http://zeenews.india.com/badminton/...enth-highest-paid-female-athlete-2135006.html Excerpts: Top-seeded Indian badminton player PV Sindhu is the seventh 'Highest-Paid Female Athletes' for the year 2018, according to a list by Forbes. The 23-year-old's total earning stands at $8.5 million, with primary sources of income being badminton championships and endorsements. Top 10 Highest-Paid Female Athletes 2018 by Forbes 1. Serena Williams — Total earnings: $18.1 million (Prize money: $62,000, Endorsements: $18 million) 2. Caroline Wozniacki — Total earnings: $13 million (Prize money: $7 million, Endorsements: $6 million) 3. Sloane Stephens — Total earnings: $11.2 million (Prize money: $5.7 million, Endorsements: $5.5 million) 4. Garbine Muguruza — Total earnings: $11 million (Prize money: $5.5 million, Endorsements: $5.5 million) 5. Maria Sharapova — Total earnings: $10.5 million (Prize money: $1 million, Endorsements: $9.5 million) 6. Venus Williams — Total earnings: $10.2 million (Prize money: $4.2 million, Endorsements: $6 million) 7. P.V. Sindhu — Total earnings: $8.5 million (Prize money: $500,000, Endorsements: $8 million) 8. Simona Halep — Total earnings: $7.7 million (Prize money: $6.2 million, Endorsements: $1.5 million) 9. Danica Patrick — Total earnings: $7.5 million (Salary/prize money: $3 million, Endorsements: $4.5 million) 10. Angelique Kerber — Total earnings: $7 million (Prize money: $3 million, Endorsements: $4 million) Interestingly, not a single women ranked among the world's 100 highest-paid athletes, a list dominated by men.
Good for her. She's an inspiration to the three Indian girls in my county junior squad. They all want to be the next PV Sindu.
Even BBC has an article on PVS being the 7th highest paid female athlete over the past year! I'm surprised that she can earn so much as a badminton player at such a young age https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/45268565 Hope that all badminton players continue to see better rewards and that we can catch up to tennis.
Link: https://www.news18.com/news/badmint...-to-outwit-tai-tzu-ying-in-final-1858109.html Asian Games: PV Sindhu Has Plans in Place to Outwit Tai Tzu Ying in Final Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying has proved to be a nemesis for India's star shuttlers but P V Sindhu said she has a strategy in place to outwit the world number one in the Asian Games final on Tuesday. PTI Updated:August 27, 2018, 2:29 PM IST (Image: SAI) Jakarta: Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying has proved to be a nemesis for India's star shuttlers but P V Sindhu said she has a strategy in place to outwit the world number one in the Asian Games final on Tuesday. Sindhu defeated Japanese world no 2 Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 15-21, 21-10 in the second semifinal to set up a summit clash with Tzu Ying, their 13th international encounter. "I have a strategy in place for her. It should be a good match," said world no 3 Sindhu, who has not beaten Tzu Ying in their last five meetings. Overall, the Taipei player has a 9-3 record against Sindhu and she enjoys similar dominance over Saina Nehwal, whom she beat in the first semifinal earlier on Monday. The pressure will be on Sindhu as it is another big final. The Rio Olympics runner-up has often been criticized for not landing the final punch, having lost a few major finals, including two straight World Championships summit clashes. It was only at the 2016 Rio Olympics where Sindhu last got the better of Tzu Ying. Here, Sindhu overcame a shaky start earlier in the competition to make the final. She was stretched to three games in the opener by Vietnam's Vu Thi Trang. The 23-year-old Indian said she never doubted herself despite a wobbly beginning. "I never thought negative for a moment. I was always thinking about improving with each match. It is a big competition and there are no easy matches. Hope to go all the way tomorrow," she said. Sindhu said it was unfortunate that it could not be an all Indian final with Saina losing to Tzu Ying. "She lost but she played well. I could not see the entire match but she played well in the second set. I was hoping to meet her in the final," she said. In the semifinal against Yamaguchi, it seemed Sindhu had it easy in the third and decisive game. "There was a big lead but no point was easy. The scoreline doesn't suggest that but I had to fight hard for every point," Sindhu said. "There were long rallies. She did not give up despite trailing. She was also a bit lucky with the net chords. At one point, I was like this is happening a lot but you can't do much about these things."
Link: https://www.bbc.com/sport/badminton/45328633 PV Sindhu: Olympic silver medallist becomes first Indian to win badminton silver at Asian Games PV Sindhu created history by becoming the first Indian badminton player to win a silver medal at the Asian Games. The Olympic silver medallist - who on Monday became the first Indian to reach an Asian Games singles final - lost 21-13 21-16 to Taiwanese world number one Tai Tzu Ying in Jakarta. It comes just days after Sindhu, 23, was named seventh on the Forbes list of highest-earning female athletes. Sindhu has now lost seven of her last eight major international finals. On Monday, Sindhu's compatriot Saina Nehwal won bronze to become the first Indian to win an individual badminton medal at the Asian Games in 36 years. In 1982, Syed Modi won men's singles bronze at the Games in New Delhi. The Forbes list found Sindhu's on-court winnings last year totalled $500,000 (£387,000) but endorsements saw her bring in an extra $8m (£6.2m) in sponsorship. 'She will continue to be a star' - analysis Vikas Pandey, BBC News, Delhi Sindhu was carrying the hopes of millions of Indians who desperately wanted her to win. It has been a welcome change to see cricket-crazy Indians glued to TV sets in shops and malls to watch badminton. One can arguably say that she has become as big a star as cricketers like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. And that is no small achievement because cricket is considered a religion in India and other sports find it hard to win popular support and sponsors. But Sindhu has changed the perception. People recognise her because she routinely appears on advertising billboards and TV commercials. Today's result may have disappointed people, but there is no doubt that she will continue to be a star in India. And that is likely to inspire children to pick up a badminton racquet to become next PV Sindhu.
gross inaccuracy by forbes. her career winning are under $500,000. from 8/01/2017-8/01/2018 she won $169,625.00 in prize money. even if you add $48,750 for pbl it only comes to $218,375. on court 'winnings' - $169,625 on court 'earnings' - $218,375 forbes knowing anything about badminton -$0.00 in that same time period tty's prize winnings was $328,600 so imagine what it would take to win $500,000 in a year. total superseries prize money last year was $8,825,000. winning every tournament (13) would only earn you $635,400 for singles.
Link 1: https://www.firstpost.com/sports/as...ining-but-resembles-a-dark-cloud-5064931.html Asian Games 2018: PV Sindhu's medal at Jakarta doesn't signify a silver lining but resembles a dark cloud Sports V Krishnaswamy Aug 28, 2018 21:37:49 IST There comes a time, when a silver medal instead of signifying a silver lining, actually starts resembling a dark cloud. It happens when silver medals start outnumbering gold ones. Silver can no longer console, it only adds to the questions and grief. Yet, one cannot show the pain that needs to stay locked inside. No one knows that better than PV Sindhu. For the umpteenth time, she came all set to break a jinx and failed. It has happened once again as she has lost the Asian Games women’s singles final to Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying 13-21, 16-21. She was never in the match and both she and her coach, Pullela Gopichand, admitted it. No words were needed to articulate that. It was out in the open to see. Sindhu’s silver was the best an Indian badminton player had ever achieved at an Asian Games. But the colour of the medal was not the colour she or anyone else would have wanted. PV Sindhu lost to Chinese taipei's Tai Tzu Ying in the Asian Games women's singles final. AP Since the 2016 Olympic Games, Sindhu has lost finals at Rio Olympics (2016), the final at World Championships in Glasgow (2017), the final at Dubai Super Series (2017), the final at Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (2018) and the final at World Championships in Nanjing (2018). Now, add the Asian Games final at Jakarta to that painful list. It would be best, if Sindhu does not see Wednesday’s papers and for that matter anything appearing in the media. She needs to erase this file, just as we do to a file that has gone rogue on a hard disk in the computer. At 23, she is young and has achieved unprecedented success. She has achieved numerous firsts in Indian badminton like the silver at the Asian Games in Jakarta. So, was her Olympic silver as was her first World Championships bronze or the first World Championship silver or the second silver. Then there was the Commonwealth Games final, where she lost to a lower ranked compatriot Saina Nehwal. Each of those performances was Gold Standard, but fetched her only silver and sometimes less. Too many silvers have raised too many questions — from nervousness to stage-fright to lack of mental strength. Each of these questions, in turn, raises nightmares and brings up that much-dreadful word “Choke”. Ivan Lendl and Ken Rosewall never won Wimbledon; Bjorn Borg never won the US Open. Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood never won a golf Major. Then there was Greg Norman, who in 1986 won 11 times, and held the 54-hole lead in each of the four Majors but won none. In NBA basketball, it is possible to have a rewarding career without winning a NBA title, but to call it a day without the ‘winners’ ring adds an asterisk to the name. Charley Barkley and Karl Malone belong to that dubious list. Back in 1996 at the Atlanta Olympic Games, when Nike ran the campaign – ‘You don’t win silver, you lose gold’, there was criticism that the line contravened the spirit of the Olympics. It was withdrawn. There is another line, which I am not sure who said it first or why, but it brings out the harsh reality of life - “Second is the first in the long line of losers”. This, too, goes against the spirit of participation in sport. But few champions will dispute it. Till this afternoon, even World No 1 Tai Tzu Ying did not have a World Championships, Olympic or Asian Games gold, but she has the last one now. At the highest levels in sport, they all know that there is little to be chosen between any two competitors. Amicro-second; a centimeter, may be just a millimeter; or one crucial volley or a smash or a net cord. That’s all that separates winners from losers. The answers are not easy to find and the questions are too many. Seconds and silvers, too shine, but they can’t be the headline. History always consigns silvers to the footnotes. Sad, but true. Heartless, too. Link 2: https://www.thequint.com/sports/asian-games/asian-games-2018-pv-sindhu-silver-medal Mental Block? Analyzing PV Sindhu’s Losing Streak in Finals G RAJARAMAN UPDATED :03H 11M AGO Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships and now the Asian Games featured her in the gold medal matches and yet she would take home silver. Worse, she has lost many finals – seven in-a-row since she won the Korean Open in September last year – and that did cause some concern. But most questions are not justified since they focus on her mental strength. It is too simplistic to dismiss the run of losses in seven finals as mental block. Or even as being inferior either tactically or in terms of skill sets. Beaten by Six Different Players in Final Matches Suffice to say that she would not be winning close matches to get to the title rounds so often if she were not mentally strong. There can be no question that she is a gifted athlete, blessed with height and the ability to try and control, if not dictate, both the pace of the match and to find tactics to counter the rivals. If she can do it for four rounds, she surely can do it a fifth time.` A journalist friend, watching the Asian Games in the refurbished and legendary Istora, asked me if she choked in the finals? Good, pertinent question. But the answer has to be in the negative because choking would entail getting into winning positions. She has won just two games in the seven finals under the scanner. Since she won the Korea Open last year, six different players have beaten her in the finals. Tai Tzu Ying (Hong Kong Open 2017 and Asian Games Final) Akane Yamaguchi (World SuperSeries Finals) Beiwen Zhang (India Open) Saina Nehwal (Commonwealth Games) Nozomi Okuhara (Thailand Open) Carolina Marin (World Championship) That list suggests that it is not one player who has bothered her in the finals. Typically, you would reckon that some athletes come off second best to some others in competition, but this is not the truth in Sindhu’s case. Therefore, we have to look elsewhere for the solution to the conundrum of the final stumble. Strain from Earlier Rounds For long I have said that it is possible that she does not completely recover, physically and mentally, from the strain of the earlier rounds. She has to step on the court afresh to fight in the final. There is no doubt that Sindhu tries her hardest each time she steps on court, more so in the finals. It must be a matter of time before she bridges the narrowest of gaps and wins more finals than she loses. To my mind, she will have to manage her recovery – physical and emotional – better after winning tough matches in the run up to the final. There really is precious little time between the semifinals and final. The challenge for Sindhu and her coaching staff will be to find ways in which she returns to the court, feeling and believing that she is fresh. Surely, India’s Chief Coach P Gopichand and his support team will have analysed this streak with greater interest than many of us bystanders. Hopefully, they will have put their finger on the real issue and helped the player find a solution. It will be interesting to see their response to one of Indian sport’s most intriguing contemporary questions. It's Important to Forget and Move On: Gopichand It was easy to ask national coach Gopichand after the Asian Games final if he believed Sindhu had recovered physically and emotionally. He did not answer it directly, but his response was convincing enough for us to believe that this aspect is being taken care of by him and the rest of the support staff. “I think there is a physical side to recovery, but the mental side to recovery also happens because you should not think too much about both the match you have just won and what's going to happen the following day,” he said. “As a top athlete, it's fundamental for you to keep forgetting things and move on.” “If they have physical routines, they also have routines of pre-match preparations, which when you are fully involved and are in the present moment in itself, will take care of the emotional aspect,” he said. We will have to then accept that every attempt is made to let Sindhu take to court in a final, emotionally and physically recovered and fresh. As the Dutch football players and British golfer Colin Montgomerie will know, the tag of the Eternal Bridesmaid is not the best to live with. And as British tennis player Andy Murray will concede, there is no greater joy in breaking free of that rut with a victory to end all such conversations as this one. Surely, Sindhu will soon find a winning sequence that is just as significant and entrenched in public consciousness as her losses in the finals are. She is 23 and has a few years ahead of top quality badminton ahead of her. And we will have to believe that she and the national coach are eager to break that run sooner than later and make that tryst with the top of the podium.
Forbes was trying to round off instead of specifying exact "on court earnings" of around $218375. The endorsement amount should have been 8 million dollars and an amount, which they rounded off. This is still more money than what the World No. 1 Tennis player makes and a great promo for badminton.
Link: https://www.news18.com/news/badmint...d-for-silver-medallist-pv-sindhu-1859269.html Asian Games: World Number 1 Tai Tzu Ying Too Good For Silver Medallist PV Sindhu For the fifth time this year, India’s PV Sindhu lost a final, and had to had to settle for silver. News18 Sports Updated:August 28, 2018, 2:57 PM IST For the fifth time this year, India’s PV Sindhu lost a final, and had to had to settle for silver. This time it was against World No. 1 and top seed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei who beat the Olympic silver medallist in straight games, 21-13, 21-16 in a little over 30 minutes. Sindhu came into Tuesday’s final having beaten Tai only thrice in their nine meetings, the last of which was at the Rio Olympics in 2016. The Indian showed promise in bits and pieces, but mostly failed to keep up the momentum as Tai was barely challenged on her way to her country’s first badminton gold medal. With the gap widening between the two players, Sindhu’s errors crept up. Once a game down, the Hyderabadi was at a massive psychological disadvantage, and to come out of it, she needed to come with an extraordinary plan. Unfortunately for her, Tai gave her no time at all execute it. This is India’s best showing, however, from the badminton singles event at the Asian Games. Before Sindhu’s silver and Saina’s bronze in Indonesia, Syed Modi had won a bronze at the 1982 Asiad in New Delhi.
Link: https://indianexpress.com/article/s...-sindhu-silver-medal-badminton-final-5328765/ Asian Games 2018: PV Sindhu wins silver medal, reckons Tai Tzu Ying ‘can be beaten’ PV Sindhu lost her third major final of the year to pick up the silver medal in women's singles at the 18th Asian Games. By: Sports Desk| Updated: August 28, 2018 5:05:01 pm PV Sindhu’s disappointment of finishing second-best in major tournaments continued as she lost in straight games to Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei. World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying was far better than her competitor in the final of the women’s singles event at the Asian Games in Jakarta. Despite the defeat, Sindhu created history in India’s best-ever finish in badminton at the continental event. Prior to Sindhu, no Indian had ever reached the final of any event at the Asian Games. The last Indian to win a medal in an individual event was Syed Modi grabbing a bronze medal at the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi. It is also the first time that India have won two individual medals at the Asian Games with Saina Nehwal clinching bronze medal on Monday. She was beaten by Tai in the semifinals. Sindhu has already tasted defeat in the final of two major events this year – at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast (to Saina) and World Championships in Nanjing (to Spain’s Carolina Marin). Sindhu, Rio Olympics silver medallist, had also lost the finals at India Open (to Beiwen Zhang) and Thailand Open (to Nozomi Okuhara) this year. Sindhu came into the final having lost five straight matches to Tai, with the last win coming at the Rio Olympics. On Monday, Sindhu had said she had a few cards up her sleeve and some ideas to counter Tai Tzu Ying. But on the day, none of them worked out. The Chinese Taipei shuttler dominated from the start and Sindhu played catch up all the way. Her sharp returns and well placed disguises were on mark from the word go as she took a 5-0 lead. Sindhu turned up her attacking and fierce game to reduce the deficit to 4-6 but Tai continuously remained one step ahead. Using lovely drop shots to perfect use, the Chinese Taipei player raced away to a 17-10 commanding lead following the mid-game interval. Using her angled shots, drop shots and clever wristwork, PV Sindhu found it tough to anticipate the replies and find appropriate returns. The first game was over in just 16 minutes. Tai Tzu Ying created little chances for PV Sindhu to find an opening. (Source: Reuters) At the start of the second game, Sindhu tried to push Tai Tzu Ying to the back. This strategy worked at the start to put the game level at 4-4. But in attempt at finding the lines and pushing up the tempo, Sindhu created far too many errors. Even when her deep shots found their range, her drop shots that followed were not effective enough to win points. As the game went on, Tai Tzu Ying tightened her grip on the match. An un-returnable smash put her ahead 15-10. The contest was inching close to the end when Tai earned a match point with Sindhu netting it at 15-19. Sindhu saved one match point but couldn’t prolong the inevitable when Tai Tzu Ying’s drop shot went unanswered. Tai Tzu Ying can be beaten: Sindhu Sindhu insisted that there was not a huge gap and the Chinese Taipei player is beatable. “There is not a huge gap. We just have to be prepared and ready, definitely we are going to break that (losing streak). It’s not easy but if we work on our mistakes, we can do it,” Sindhu said. “There is no mental block, but sometimes you make mistakes and give her a huge lead. You have to keep going, stick to that. I gave her easy points. If I had played patiently and kept the shuttle in, it could have been different. It was not easy to take points from her because her defence was also good.” It has been two years since Sindhu last beat Tai Tzu Ying and the difference is quite visible. Asked how different Tai is now, Sindhu said, “She has improved in her strokes, deception. If we work on those, things might change. She is a deceptive player. It was not very tough to take those (shots), if you keep the shuttle in, she tends to make mistakes and definitely not very tough to beat.”
Link: https://www.ibtimes.co.in/asian-gam...her-stride-move-says-coach-vimal-kumar-779020 Asian Games 2018: PV Sindhu should take criticism in her stride and move on, says coach Vimal Kumar The former national chief coach, speaking to IBTimes India, insisted that Sindhu's final defeats shouldn't overshadow her consistent performances and urged the 23-year-old to work on deceptive shots. By :Akshay Ramesh PV Sindhu won the country's first-ever silver medal in badminton at Asian Games.SONNY TUMBELAKA/AFP/Getty Images Former national chief coach Vimal Kumar is confident of PV Sindhu winning big titles soon and has urged the young Indian shuttler to take criticism in her stride. Vimal's comments come just after Sindhu lost her fifth straight major final on Tuesday at Asian Games 2018. The 23-year-old was beaten in straight games in the women's singles gold medal match by world number one Tai Tzu Ying at the Istora, weeks after the heartbreaking world championships final defeat to Carolina Marin of Spain in Nanjing, China. Sindhu has been receiving severe criticism over failures to cross the final hurdle at major events and the latest defeat in Jakarta has provided naysayers with more fodder. The Rio Olympic silver medalist survived a scare against unseeded Vu Thi Trang of Vietnam in the first round and was made to work hard en route to the final. Unlike the major finals in the past, Sindhu didn't start Tuesday's gold medal match as the favourite as Tai was in sublime form in the lead up to the tie. The Chinese Taipei star's unparalleled deceptive skills were on display at the Istora as Sindhu struggled to gain any momentum during the 39-minute encounter. 'Sindhu will win big titles soon' Vimal insisted that the losses in the final are not overshadowing Sindhu's consistent performances on the tour over the last few years. He added that it's only a matter of time before the world number three wins the elusive gold medal. "She [Sindhu] was outclassed today. There was no much of a chance. Unlike the other finals, she didn't get any chance. I thought Tai was really at her best. Sindhu had also looked a bit jaded. Physically she didn't look very good to me.," Vimal toldInternational Business Times, India. He added: "She was reading Sindhu very well. She was early at the net and her deceptive shots were very good. Tai didn't allow Sindhu to play the way she would've wanted. "I don't think the final defeats are overshadowing her achievements. It is tough. She has also been winning tournaments. It's not that she has been losing everywhere. I won't put it that away. "Yes, it is quite annoying. Today it wasn't the case but at the last world championships, the defeat was annoying. At this year's world championships, she could've done better. She had her chances in the first game [against Carolina Marin]. When you lose such matches, it's annoying. "However, sometimes these things happen. She has always run into a player who has been in good form. I would like it to put it this way. "Overall, I don't think there's anything to worry. A lot of people, including the media, will say she has lost another final. But she has to take it in her stride and move on and look forward to better things. "The World Championships comes every here. She will do well. I am not saying she isn't but she will win some big ones very soon." Vimal heaped praise on Tai and shed light on how the Chinese Taipei player worked on her consistency over the years. Very few players have been able to come up with answers to Tai's deceptive tests. India's top-ranked shuttlers, Sindhu and Saina, have consistently struggled against the numero uno in the recent past. While Sindhu hasn't managed to beat Tai in their last six meetings, Saina has faced 10 straight defeats to the 24-year-old. Vimal urged Sindhu to work on her deceptive game and insisted that the Indian shuttler can use her height to good effect while playing such shots from the backcourt. "Earlier, Tai wasn't very consistent. She had all these shots but she was error-prone. But now she has matured and she is playing a steady game. She is an exceptional player in the world circuit just like Kento Momota in the men's circuit. She is a treat to watch and her game looks easy on the eyes," Vimal said. "Sindhu needs to develop some deceptive shots that can be played from the back of the court. She has to use her height. Sometimes she does it but under pressure, she is not able to implement those deceptive shots. She needs to train with a few deceptive players. "We need to give her credit for beating top defensive players. She had beaten the likes of Sung Ji Hyun, Nozomi Okuhara and Akane Yamaguchi in the recent past. To some extent, she can take solace in the way she has tackled them."
"This is not the last final I am playing. I will play many more finals and though a loss in final hurts, I am trying to learn from it. I’ll discuss with Gopi sir about the mistakes and will work hard to overcome them,” Sindhu said in an interview, when asked about her losses in the finals.
https://theprint.in/sport/what-p-v-sindhu-needs-to-do-to-win-the-next-big-badminton-final/113449/ EXCERPTS: Sindhu needs to learn fast to bring out that something extra towards the closing stages and raise her game when the stakes are the highest. Over 17 million viewers in India watched the 2016 Rio Olympics women’s singles final between P.V. Sindhu and Spain’s Carolina Marin. It was hard to balance out the feelings of pride and disappointment — we were oh-so-close to that Olympic Gold. We almost tasted the ultimate victory. Sindhu seemingly shook herself off from that loss and marched on. Yet from that day in Rio up until the 2018 Asian Games final, Sindhu has probably had one of the highest number of losses in big finals than anyone else on the international badminton circuit. Two in 2017 to the Japanese girls — the World Championships against Nozomi Okuhara in a record 1 hour 50 minutes thriller and then again against Akane Yamaguchi in the year-end Superseries final in Dubai (remember she beat Yamaguchi in the group stage in this tournament). Add to that the loss in the Senior National Championships final to compatriot Saina Nehwal. 2018 was no different. It started with the finals loss in her home tournament in New Delhi to lesser known American Beiwen Zhang. What followed were those silver medals at the Commonwealth Games, World Championships and now Asian Games too. Our mind was made up some time ago — Sindhu chokes and is not ready psychologically to play big finals. Presented with her track record in finals, this deduction seems legitimate. Yet take a closer look and a few facts come to the forefront. 5 of these 8 matches, Sindhu lost the last game of the match by 2 points. 4 of those 8 matches went into the 3rd game. At the time of the Rio Olympics, Sindhu was ranked world no. 10. Since then her ranking has only gotten better and steadier. Since March 2017, she has not dropped out of the top 5 with her highest ranking being no. 2 in April the same year. She has been consistent at no. 3 since March 2018. Since the last 5 World Championships (2013 to 2018), with her 4 medals, she is the most consistent singles player in the world, tied with Olympic champion China’s Chen Long who also has 4 medals in the men’s singles event. The biggest room for improvement for Sindhu, though, lies in those finals that she lost by a whisker. First of all, getting herself into those tight situations time and again could have been avoided by playing a more positive game earlier in the match. Once the crucial points approached, tactical changes such as taking the initiative, adding some surprise elements to catch the opponent off-guard and playing the points with more awareness and anticipation could be potential solutions. So just saying that the problem was a psychological one would be over simplifying it. Losing hurts. But it’s that much harder and more frustrating to digest when you were so close to the win — time and again. Being as resilient as she is, Sindhu has been working on areas of her game in which she is weak. She is slowly plugging the gaps and along with her team, is figuring out answers. She is persevering while the rest of us are doubting her ability to be ‘the winner’. As far as Sindhu is concerned, this topic has been over-discussed. It’s only because we care about our champion. We want to see her win because she deserves to. Let’s treat her with a patient hand, trust her unending efforts and power her with belief. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics is not too far away. Note: This article was written by former indian badminton player Aparna Popat
