Sindhu treads Saina’s path with maiden GPG title

PV Sindhu’s maiden Grand Prix Gold title is in keeping with her rising status as the best Indian prospect since Saina Nehwal. With a GP Gold title in her bag, her sights will be on the titles that only one other Indian women’s singles player has won: the Superseries.

The Malaysian title victory could catapult her into the top-ten, leading to the astounding reality of two Indians in the top-ten of the women’s singles rankings – an undreamed-of prospect just six or seven years ago!

Until her Malaysia GP Gold victory, Sindhu’s best was the Swiss International in October 2011. The Indian, though, has come close to winning other important titles. At the Syed Modi GPG late last year, seeded second, she lost unexpectedly in the final to Lindaweni Fanetri.

Sindhu has been in the limelight back from 2009 or so. Her performances on the junior national circuit, followed by some impressive victories overseas, have convinced people of her potential. The Indian has steadily climbed up the ladder, and it was always going to be a question of when, rather than if. This year could well be her breakthrough year on the senior international circuit.

After some impressive performances in the second half of 2012 – including a memorable win of the Asian Juniors, Sindhu began the year on a sedate note. She fell in the early rounds of her first four events, breaking into form only this month, at the Badminton Asia Championships, where she beat the third-seeded Wang Shixian in three tough sets.

At the India Open, her sensational form continued. With back-to-back victories over two emerging Chinese players (Yao Xue and Sun Yu), and a rout of Saina Nehwal’s conqueror Yui Hashimoto in the quarters, Sindhu was able to draw the crowds to Siri Fort Stadium on semifinals day. Although she did lose that semifinal to eventual winner Ratchanok Intanon, her performance through the week signalled that – for the moment at least – she was riding on the crowd’s support, rather than burdened by it.

Unlike Saina, who has been below her best at the three editions of the India Open Superseries, Sindhu seems to thrive in home conditions. At this very event last year, she blew past Taipei prodigy Tai Tzu Ying and eighth seed Sung Ji Hyun, before losing a tough match to fourth seed Jiang Yanjiao of China in the quarterfinals. This year too, she appeared cheerful from the beginning, confident of her chances against dangerous players, and proving she wasn’t solely dependent on her steep smashes and long reach to win her points. Against the two tall Chinese, she showed plenty of tactical innovations and subtlety of shots at the net. It is the confidence of the India Open that she carried into the Malaysia Open, justifying her top-seed status.

She first beat Chen Jiayuan (Singapore) in three games, Cheung Ngan Yi (HK), also in three, before easing past Hera Desi (Indonesia) in the quarters and Sapsiree (Thailand) in the semis, both in straight games. The title was won over Gu Juan (Singapore) despite trailing 7-13 and 10-15 in the third game.

Sindhu: Recent performances:

Semifinals: India Open Superseries (April 2013)

Quarters: Asian Championships (April 2013)

Runner-up: Syed Modi International GP Gold (December 2012)

Semifinals: China Masters Superseries (September 2012)

Winner: Asian Junior Championships (July 2012)