PV Sindhu, the defending champion, was eliminated from the BWF World Badminton Championships in Huelva on Friday after losing in straight games to old rival and world number one Tai Tzu Ying. The top-seeded Tai Tzu defeated Sindhu 21-17 21-13 in a 42-minute set that sapped their energies. Sindhu struggled to match Tai Tzu’s pace, court coverage, and drop shots, as she had done so many times before, despite the Indian’s superb cross-court smashes. Sindhu, who made several unforced errors during the match, was continually playing catch-up. At one point in the second game, she was able to accomplish so, but she ran out of steam later on.
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The victory improved the Chinese Taipei player’s head-to-head record to 15-5 in favour of the Chinese Taipei player. Early on, the two players’ off-the-court pals were knotted 2-2, but Tai Tzu rapidly altered gears to take an 11-6 lead at the change of ends in the opening game. With some great cross-court smashes, Sindhu made a comeback to close the lead to 16-18 and then 17-19.
The second game was more evenly contested, but Tai Tzu led 11-8 at the halftime break when Sindhu committed a blunder. But, thanks to two superb smashes for which Tai Tzu had no response, the deficit was reduced to just one point at 10-11. Tai Tzu grabbed the following point, but Sindhu tied the game at 11-12 with another cross-court smash. Sindhu levelled the score at 12-12. The Chinese Taipei player then sent the shuttle wide for the Chinese Taipei player to send the shuttle wide for Sindhu to equal the match at 12-12.
The nimble-footed Tai Tzu took the following three points, but then smacked his head on the netting. The Indian next went to the net, but was unable to reach a drop shot from her great opponent, leaving her with a five-point deficit at 13-18. Sindhu’s unforced errors continued as she shot wide and then missed Tai Tzu’s smash, allowing her to lose the match.
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Meanwhile, on Friday in Huelva, Kidambi Srikanth defeated Mark Caljouw to advance to the semi-finals of the 2017 BWF World Championships. In a match that lasted only 26 minutes, the former world number one Indian defeated the Dutch shuttler 21-8, 21-7. Kidambi Srikanth’s victory ensured India’s first medal at the BWF World Championships in 2021, as well as his first-ever podium finish at the event. This is India’s third medal in the men’s singles event at the Olympics. By the first mid-game break, the 12th seeded Indian had built an 11-5 advantage. The Indian badminton player, who had been in excellent form throughout the match, finished the opening game with a score of 21-8. In the second game, Caljouw attempted to go deep. Srikanth, on the other hand, maintained his domination throughout the game, winning 21-7.
