Sindhu fails to end title drought,loses to Chinese rival in Malaysia Masters Badminton
Sindhu, 15th in the badminton world rankings, lost to China’s Wang Zhi Yi, the world No. 7, 21-16, 5-21, 16-21 in the title decider at the Axiata Arena.
Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu is now a win away from first BWF World Tour title in two years.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu made the Malaysia Masters badminton singles final after a come-from-behind win over Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
Sindhu, 15th in the latest badminton world rankings, defeated world No. 20 Ongbamrungphan 13-21, 21-16, 21-12 in one hour and 28 minutes to reach her first final on the BWF World Tour since the Spain Masters in April last year, where she lost to Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.
Advertisement
In the final, the Indian will face China’s second seed Wang Zhi Yi, who beat compatriot Wang Yi Man, the sixth seed, in the other semi-final encounter.
Incidentally, Sindhu had defeated Wang Zhi Yi in the final to claim her last BWF World Tour title back in Singapore Open 2022.
In her top four clash, PV Sindhu held her own in the early exchanges and was trailing by just a single point at 9-10 before Ongbamrungphan seized the initiative with six back-to-back points and went on to pocket the first game with relative ease.
However, the Indian responded in style in the next game. Despite trailing 7-5 early on, Sindhu bounced back to draw level and set up a deciding game in the contest.
Riding on the momentum, the 28-year-old Sindhu didn’t concede the lead even once in the third game and sealed her 18th victory over Ongbamrungphan in 19 meetings.
Advertisement
