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P V Sindhu bags silver after an epic final at World Championships

By: Gobadminton desk
Date: 31 Aug, 2017
Image Courtesy: TOTAL BWF BWC 2017 Facebook

Sindhu lost to Okuhara in the Total BWF World Championship finals, yet, she won million hearts again by winning silver in the world’s biggest war among sports. P. V. Sindhu sealed for silver against Nozomi Okuhara of Japan by 19-21, 22-20, 20-22 scoreline in 110-minute epic finals.

 

The badminton court turned to hard battle ground at Emirates Arena, Glasgow, with long rallies and smashes. And not to forget, the 73-shot rally in the second game was the showstopper which was won by Sindhu.

 

After losing in the first game, Sindhu bounced back in the second, throwing the match to the decider. In the third game, every point was crucial as both the players levelled to their opponent. As quoted by Sindhu, it was anybody’s game when they reached 20-20 in the final.

 

The match was the hardest fight for Sindhu as well as Okuhara. Sindhu almost touched gold; she was about to raise her head with the medal. But, the match was unpredictable. Okuhara was very adamant and she surprised Sindhu with her mental strength. They never gave up till the epic championship point. It could be Sindhu or Okuhara at the podium with gold. And it was Okuhara. Yet, Sindhu could change medal this time after two bronze medals at World Championships.

 

In the first game, the slackish Indian saved straight 8 points with loping speed after 3-5 lead by Japanese to dominate at the interval with 11-5 scoreline.

 

Sindhu’s height favored her to cover the court in returning the bird with deceptive shots. This made Okuhara troubled and she had to stifle around the court. Sindhu’s upper hand dragged till 13-8, then, the Japanese changed the gear with long rallies. Sindhu tried to reach Okuhara till 14-14. The lead was extended to 18-14 after winning 10 of the 13 points after the interval. However, the Japanese committed few unforced errors, which helped Sindhu to level the par at 19-19.

 

Sindhu, then sent one to the net to hand over the game point to Okuhara, who pocketed the opening game when the Indian hit long.

 

After switching the sides, Sindhu bounced back by 5-1 lead, making her opponent to struggle at the net. Sindhu maintained the patience and extended the lead to 9-3. However, Sindhu failed to to reach the forehand hits at forecourt helping Okuhara to gain 4 points by 7-9. It was Sindhu who held at 11-8 lead at the interval when Okuhara went wide. Sindhu most of the time pushed the shuttle to the corners at the opponent to make Okuhara run. Okuhara made some remarkable retrieves she miscued a shot at the forecourt as Sindhu led 16-13. Not ready to give up, Okuhara fell back on her extraordinary net game to save three game points.

 

Sindhu then won a point by pushing the shuttle at the back of the court. What ensued next was a 73-shot long and exhausting rally which Sindhu managed to win when Okuhara's return found the net and she collapsed on the ground, drained completely.

 

In the epic decider, both the players looked exhausted. Sindhu led back by 1-5. Picking up the pace slowly, she reached Okuhara at 5-5 by her clever net returns. She continued with the same speed and led by 11-9 at the interval when Okuhara hit wide.

 

After the change of sides, Okuhara erased the deficit with a backhand body smash and a forehand return. Sindhu won another long rally with an onrushing smash but she lost her second video referral as Okuhara led 13-12. They played neck-to-neck game till 17-17. As Okuhara hit wide, Indian gained two points by 19-17 lead. The rallies were very long that both the players had to return the shuttle by cross court hits and smashes. Till the score line reached 20-20, the decider was such a thriller that it could be anybody’s game. And the game was taken by Nozomi Okuhara.

 

The Japanese grabbed the match point again when Sindhu found the net and she used it this time with a perfect return on Sindhu's backhand to become the first shuttler from her country to win the World Championship. The players were really the warriors in the battleground of badminton.

 

On the other hand, the internet is showered with congratulations and appreciations calling it as the greatest women’s singles finals, in the history.

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