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India’s ace women’s singles shuttler PV Sindhu may have lost her maiden summit clash at the Dubai World Superseries Finals against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, but her brilliant form has ensured that her name has gone down in the history books of Indian badminton.
Sindhu has become the first Indian shuttler to have made it to the finals of both the BWF World Championship and the Dubai World Superseries Finals in the same year.
Incidentally, with this feat, she also becomes only the third women’s singles shuttler to make it to the finals of the two prestigious events in a calendar year.
Sindhu came into the tournament as one of the favourites, and did not disappoint, as she dropped only one game en route to the final. The 22-year-old got off to a great start in the final against Yamaguchi, as she swept the first game 21-15.
However, Yamaguchi struck back in the second, with a resounding 21-12 scoreline. The decider was as close as ever, with both the shuttlers going neck and neck against each other. The Japanese shuttler, however, picked up her tempo in the final moments of the match, as she won it 21-19.
Earlier this year, Sindhu faced another disappointment as she played an epic 110-minute final against Nozomi Okuhara, also of Japan. The two shuttlers even played out a massive 73-shot rally in the match.
Only two women’s singles shuttlers other than Sindhu have managed to achieve this feat. Wang Yihan of China had made it to the summit clash of both the World Championship and the Superseries Finals in London and Liuzhou respectively and actually managed to clinch both the titles in 2011.
Meanwhile, Li Xuerui, also of China managed to make it to the final of the World Championships in Guangzhou and the World Superseries Finals in Kuala Lumpur. However, Xeurui could only manage to win one of these two prestigious events, defeating Tai Tzu-ying in the summit clash of the Superseries Finals.
