“This one’s going to be tough. It is going to take something very special from (PV) Sindhu to prevent what many will be looking at as a fairly comfortable win for Wang Zhi Yi,” commentator Bobby Griffin said as the two shuttlers warmed up ahead of their women’s singles third round clash.
Most regular followers of the game wouldn’t have questioned Griffin. After all, world No.2 Wang has been in top form this year with as many as seven finals. Many would’ve bet on her reaching the BWF World Championships podium this weekend in Paris. But few would have shown any confidence in Sindhu.
Poor form, injuries, criticism about her game, questions about her motivation and future – the former world champion has had to endure quite a bit of late. But on Thursday, the 30-year-old Sindhu showed that the fire in her belly is well and truly burning as she brought out her vintage best to cause the upset of the tournament by ousting the Chinese world No.2 21-19, 21-15 in 48 minutes.
The two-time Olympic medallist unshackled herself for the first time in months and was in absolutely smashing form. She raised her level, unleashing her power game to outplay one of the most dominant players this season.
Unlike the first two rounds, world No.15 Sindhu didn’t start slowly. On the contrary she was the aggressor and that took second seed Wang by surprise at the Adidas Arena. Just as she did during her prime, an extremely confident Sindhu anticipated Wang’s shots and attacked at the net with her rocket smashes hitting the floor even before the Chinese could react.
After a long time, Sindhu made good use of her power to regularly attack the net, going on the charge to ease to a 11-6 lead. Startled at the start, Wang slowly started to find her rhythm to win six points on the trot to go 12-11 ahead.
But having beaten the world No.2 twice in the past (in four meetings), Sindhu knew what she needed to do. She used her height and reach brilliantly, dug deep and just stuck in the rallies to force Wang to go for the winners, many of which turned out to be errors.
It was extremely tight but Wang managed to pull out a 19-17 lead with some brilliant wristy drops and body smashes. But Sindhu used her experience to force Wang to play at the net and then push the Chinese to the back to get her out of position. After the lovely setup, Sindhu would rush to the net to smash the bird and collect four points on the trot and the game.
Wang tried to be the aggressor in the second game but by then, the momentum had shifted. The five-time World Championship medallist hit some fantastic smashes to which Wang had no response as the Indian led 11-7 at the interval. In one last attempt, the 25-year-old tried fighting back but Sindhu was ready for every response, be it a cross, drop, lob or smash.
Sindhu displayed fantastic alertness to win some reflex points which on any other day would have hit the net. “I am just blown away. That is excellent by the Indian shuttler,” said Griffin towards the end, made to eat his own words by Sindhu.
In no time, Sindhu had six match points, converting on her second as she raised her left hand to signify the massive upset against all odds.
“For me, Wang was like any other player. When I went into the court, I knew it’s not going to be easy. At the World Championships, you have to fight for every point, every rally. Of course, Wang is a top athlete, she has a very good run, but (I) wasn’t thinking that,” said Sindhu.
“I was prepared for everything – long rallies, change of speed, half smashes and coming to speed. It was important for me to be quick on my feet every time because she has those surprising shots.”
After the confidence boosting win, Sindhu will take on Indonesian ninth seed Putri Kusuma Wardani in the quarter-final against whom the Indian has a 2-2 record.
Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also came up with a superb display to stun fifth seeds and the reigning Asian champions Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong 19-21, 21-12, 21-15 to book their place in the mixed doubles quarters where they will face world No.4 Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei of Malaysia.
Later, ninth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat Chinese sixth seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang 19-21, 21-15, 21-17 to advance to the men’s doubles quarters where they will face Malaysian world No.2 Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.
Prannoy goes down
Late on Wednesday, HS Prannoy went down 8-21, 21-17, 21-23 in a topsy-turvy match where he wasted three match points against Danish world No.2 Anders Antonsen. After the match, the world No.34 indicated that he could be retiring soon.
“Game-wise, I’m there. But fitness-wise, I’m probably not able to keep up with these youngsters. The pace is too high and sometimes the body is not reacting to how I want it to. It’s a tad slower. I probably have at max one (World Championship more) in me. I really want to push for a couple of more years, but I really doubt it,” said the 33-year-old.
