PV Sindhu’s BWF World Championships campaign ended in heartbreak on Thursday after the Indian let a promising position slip in the deciding game against third seed Wang Zhi Yi of China, going down 11-21, 21-15, 17-21 in a 90-minute women’s singles pre-quarterfinal thriller.
The ninth-seeded Indian recovered from a one-sided opening game with some of her best attacking badminton in the second and carried that momentum into the decider, where she led 13-10 and later drew level at 16-16. But the closing exchanges belonged to Wang, who won five of the final six points as Sindhu’s errors returned at the most damaging moment.
A medical break for Wang at 16-16 interrupted a phase in which Sindhu had regained the initiative, but the Indian refused to use the stoppage as an explanation for the defeat. Instead, she repeatedly returned to one word in her post-match assessment — patience.
“I think, overall, especially towards the end, I should have been a little more patient,” Sindhu said. “I can’t see any loopholes in between the points. I think, especially at the end, I should have been a little more patient. That’s what I can see from today’s game, particularly in the last three or four points.”
Those final few rallies eventually separated the two players after a match in which Sindhu went from being comprehensively outplayed in the opening game to forcing Wang into a prolonged battle.
Wang punishes Sindhu’s errors in opening game
The warning signs for Sindhu appeared early.
While she stayed close to Wang through the opening exchanges, reaching 3-3, 5-5, 6-6 and 7-7, too many points were being conceded without forcing the Chinese player to produce a winner.
There were misjudgements at the backline and sidelines, while an attempted backhand went wide at 6-7. Wang, meanwhile, showed greater control around the net and began making Sindhu work through longer rallies.
At 7-9, a prolonged exchange ended with Wang taking the point through sharp net play. Sindhu responded with an excellent drop to make it 8-9, but the Indian could not sustain the pressure.
The decisive run came after Wang led 10-9.
Sindhu’s judgement from the back of the court continued to let her down and Wang gradually opened a 14-9 advantage. A forced error at the net briefly gave Sindhu some respite, but a wide shot, a powerful Wang smash and another precise net exchange stretched the Chinese player’s lead to 17-10.
By then, Sindhu was chasing the game rather than shaping it.
There was a glimpse of the aggression she would later produce when a powerful smash made it 11-18, but the revival came too late. A long shot and an error into the net handed Wang game points before the third seed closed out the opener 21-11.
Sindhu changes tempo to force decider
The response from Sindhu in the second game was immediate.
She began with greater purpose, forcing an error to take the opening point and moving 3-0 ahead after Wang misjudged a shot.
Unlike in the first game, Sindhu was now attempting to dictate rallies rather than waiting for Wang to make the first move. A well-disguised drop helped her to 5-2, and though the Chinese shuttler stayed within touching distance, Sindhu maintained a three-point advantage at 11-8 going into the interval.
Wang threatened to close the gap after the break.
Long rallies increasingly became a feature of the contest, with Wang retrieving Sindhu’s attacks and forcing the Indian into extra shots. The third seed reduced the deficit to 13-12 and then drew level at 15-15 after two long shots from Sindhu and another misjudgement near the sideline.
That was the point at which Sindhu found another gear.
A superb backhand cross-court shot forced Wang wide for 16-15. Sindhu followed it with a powerful smash and then showed excellent judgement to let another shot sail out.
At 18-15, momentum had decisively swung towards the Indian.
Sindhu continued to attack rather than retreat into defence. Wang hit wide to hand her five game points at 20-15, before another sustained attacking rally forced the Chinese player into the net.
Sindhu had taken six consecutive points from 15-15 to win the game 21-15 and force a decider.
Her assessment afterwards reflected how strongly she felt she had worked her way back into the contest.
“Overall, it was good badminton,” Sindhu said. “I think it was just her day today.”
Sindhu builds lead before Wang fights back
Sindhu carried the same aggression into the deciding game.
She made a strong start to lead 3-1 before Wang opened her account through an attacking rally. Sindhu continued to look for the front foot, moving 6-2 ahead with a smash directed into Wang’s body and then producing another powerful winner for 7-3.
But the errors had not completely disappeared.
A smash went wide at 7-4, another found the net at 8-6 and a long shot reduced Sindhu’s advantage to 8-7.
Wang had begun to recover, but Sindhu still found ways to stay ahead. At 9-9, she finally opened up the Chinese player’s defence with a smash before a wrong judgement from Wang at the backline allowed the Indian to take an 11-10 lead into the interval.
Another backline misjudgement from Wang and a net fault extended Sindhu’s advantage to 13-10.
For perhaps the first time in the match, the Indian appeared to have control of both the score and the tempo.
It did not last.
Two net errors from Sindhu allowed Wang back into the game, and the Chinese player forced a wide smash to complete a three-point run and draw level at 13-13.
Sindhu then entered another difficult phase in the long rallies. Wang moved 15-13 ahead as the Indian struggled to finish points she had helped construct.
But Sindhu responded once more with the aggression that had transformed the second game.
At 15-15, she repeatedly attacked — smash after smash — until she finally broke Wang’s resistance. Another forced error from the Chinese player gave Sindhu a 16-15 lead.
Wang responded in the next rally, with Sindhu eventually sending her smash wide to make it 16-16.
Then came the stoppage.
**Medical break precedes decisive Wang surge**
Wang received medical attention with the deciding game level at 16-16.
When play resumed, the Chinese player initially appeared uncomfortable and misjudged a shot to hand Sindhu a 17-16 advantage.
Sindhu, however, would not win another point.
She conceded the next rally before Wang produced a strong attacking exchange to move 18-17 ahead. A Sindhu shot then went wide and another smash found the net, leaving Wang with three match points at 20-17.
The Chinese player converted immediately to complete the 21-17 deciding-game victory.
Asked whether the medical stoppage had changed the momentum of the contest, Sindhu did not blame the interruption.
“I think I had to be a little more patient. It was going really well. Game 1, Game 2 and Game 3 were going equally well. I just had to be a little more patient, is what I feel,” she said.
Sindhu was also unwilling to speculate about the extent of Wang’s physical problem.
“I don’t know if she was injured or not. Maybe that is her strategy or her way of doing it. You never know. Maybe that’s her gameplay,” she said.
“But I had to be very focused and very patient and focus on every point. So, yeah, I think the last three points just changed the game, is what I felt. I should have been a little more patient.”
That assessment perhaps best summed up a contest in which Sindhu had done the difficult part — recovering from an 11-21 opening game, changing the rhythm of the match and putting herself in position to win — only to allow the decisive exchanges to slip away.
Sindhu looks towards Asian Games
The disappointment was evident afterwards, particularly because Sindhu felt the opportunity had been there to convert.
“Yeah, disappointed, of course. Sad about it. I should have converted that,” she said.
“But that’s how it is; that’s how sport is. You learn, you lose a lot, you win a lot. When you lose, you need to deal with it and bounce back stronger from your mistakes.”
Sindhu said the defeat would now be assessed with her coach as attention turns towards the Asian Games.
“Definitely, there are a lot of lessons to be taken. From today’s game, I’m going to go and discuss with my coach what needs to be done,” she said.
“Accordingly, we’ll work out whatever is required, whether it is physically, mentally, stroke-wise or whatever it is. We’ll discuss it and work accordingly. So, yeah, that’s the next focus.”
For Sindhu, the disappointment of another World Championships exit was accompanied by evidence that her attacking game could still trouble one of the tournament’s leading players.
The task, by her own assessment, is to make that level count when the margins are at their smallest.
“Because you want to win; you always have that urge to win,” Sindhu said. “But it is disappointing when you lose. I think that also gives you a chance to come back and bounce back stronger.”
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