NEW DELHI: Former title holder PV Sindhu‘s unfortunate streak persisted as she exited the World Championships in Copenhagen on Tuesday.
As the most accomplished Indian participant in World Championships history, amassing five medals, Sindhu displayed a lack of her usual vigour in her offensive play and was defeated in a subdued manner with a score of 14-21, 14-21.
Her opponent, Nozomi Okuhara from Japan, a former gold medalist in 2017 and silver medalist in 2019, posed as a familiar adversary.
It is the first instance where the 16th-seeded Sindhu has not advanced to the quarterfinals in this prestigious tournament.
Sindhu and Okuhara, best known for their marathon 110-minute-long 2017 World Championships final in Glasgow, have always produced engaging contests but the second round match at the Royal Arena turned out to be a lop-sided contest.
The duo has been troubled by injuries in the last 12 months and had missed the last edition. Sindhu came into the match with a 10-8 cushion but her game lacked the attacking prowess.
Facing off after three years in slow conditions, both the players went for high tosses and clears, looking to draw errors from the other but it was the former world number one Okuhara, who came up trumps with her precision.
After an initial duel of 6-6, Okuhara managed to grab three points and enter the break with a two-point lead.
The Japanese made it 16-12 after pouncing on a weak return at the net. The Indian continued to go wide and long as Okuhara moved to 19-12 with a precise cross court return.
Another shot going wide from Sindhu gave seven game points to Okuhara, who converted after the Indian went wide again.
The change of sides saw a shift of momentum with Sindhu racing to a 9-0 lead following a series of unforced errors from Okuhara.
Okuhara, however, slowly started to dominate the rallies and reeled off five straight points with few good placements before making it 9-10.
A cross court shot helped Sindhu to gain a two-point advantage at the interval.
Okuhara started catching her rival at the front court and grabbed six points from 10-12 to turn the tables on the Indian.
At 13-16, Sindhu unleashed a trademark cross court smash to let out a cry but she couldn’t control her mistakes and eventually gave six match points to Okuhara, who sealed the contest after the Indian went long again.
(With PTI Inputs)
As the most accomplished Indian participant in World Championships history, amassing five medals, Sindhu displayed a lack of her usual vigour in her offensive play and was defeated in a subdued manner with a score of 14-21, 14-21.
Her opponent, Nozomi Okuhara from Japan, a former gold medalist in 2017 and silver medalist in 2019, posed as a familiar adversary.
It is the first instance where the 16th-seeded Sindhu has not advanced to the quarterfinals in this prestigious tournament.
Sindhu and Okuhara, best known for their marathon 110-minute-long 2017 World Championships final in Glasgow, have always produced engaging contests but the second round match at the Royal Arena turned out to be a lop-sided contest.
The duo has been troubled by injuries in the last 12 months and had missed the last edition. Sindhu came into the match with a 10-8 cushion but her game lacked the attacking prowess.
Facing off after three years in slow conditions, both the players went for high tosses and clears, looking to draw errors from the other but it was the former world number one Okuhara, who came up trumps with her precision.
After an initial duel of 6-6, Okuhara managed to grab three points and enter the break with a two-point lead.
The Japanese made it 16-12 after pouncing on a weak return at the net. The Indian continued to go wide and long as Okuhara moved to 19-12 with a precise cross court return.
Another shot going wide from Sindhu gave seven game points to Okuhara, who converted after the Indian went wide again.
The change of sides saw a shift of momentum with Sindhu racing to a 9-0 lead following a series of unforced errors from Okuhara.
Okuhara, however, slowly started to dominate the rallies and reeled off five straight points with few good placements before making it 9-10.
A cross court shot helped Sindhu to gain a two-point advantage at the interval.
Okuhara started catching her rival at the front court and grabbed six points from 10-12 to turn the tables on the Indian.
At 13-16, Sindhu unleashed a trademark cross court smash to let out a cry but she couldn’t control her mistakes and eventually gave six match points to Okuhara, who sealed the contest after the Indian went long again.
(With PTI Inputs)
