XtraTime Web Desk: Ace Indian shuttler P.V. Sindhu had to settle for silver after going down in straight games in the final of the women’s singles category at the 2018 Asian Games today.
Sindhu was no match for World No.1 Tai Tzuying of Taiwan and was outclassed 21-13, 21-16 in just 34 minutes.
It is the first time that India has won two individual medals at the Asian Games with Saina Nehwal clinching a bronze earlier. Saina was also conquered by Tai in the semifinals.
It was Sindhu’s third defeat in a big final this year, having lost the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games title clash to Saina Nehwal and the World Championship summit clash to Spain’s Carolina Marin.
The Rio Olympic silver medallist had also lost the finals at India Open (to Beiwen Zhang) and Thailand Open (to Nozomi Okuhara) this year.
Having lost previous five encounters to Tai, world number three Sindhu needed to punch above her weight to tackle the Chinese Taipei ace.
Tai was in complete control from the beginning, taking the first five points of the match, with her trademark sharp returns.
Sindhu had no option but to attack. She returned harder to reduce the deficit to 4-6 but Tai consistently outsmarted Sindhu, using the deft drop shots very effectively.
The Taipei player was deceptive in her strokes and pulled away with a 17-10 lead.
She would change the angle and direction of the stroke very easily, making it difficult for Sindhu to anticipate and find appropriate returns. The first game was over in just 16 minutes.
To negate Tai’s strong net game, Sindhu tried to push her back to the baseline in the second game. It got her points but she lost too many points due to unforced errors as some of the shots sailed over the lines.