BWF World Championship 2019: PV Sindhu and Sai Praneeth medals great for Indian badminton
PV Sindhu defeated Nozomi Okuhara in two straight sets by
21-7, 21-7 to become the 1st Indian shuttler to win a gold medal at
the World Championships played at Basel, Switzerland played on Sunday. After
losing 2 successive finals in 2017 and 2018, Sindhu looked in good shape. With
the help of foreign coach Kim Jyun-Hung, the gold medallists improved her
stroke play and did a lot of strength training which helped her in winning long
rallies.
The Indian started the tournament on a confident note
beating Pai Yu Po in straight games by 21-14, 21-15. It was a dominating
performance by Sindhu who played with aggression and just dominated the Chinese
Taipei opponent.
PV Sindhu cruised to an easy
21-14, 21-6 over Biewen Zhang of the USA in two straight games. It was another
dominating display by the Indian who played showed her class and never allowed
a chance for her opponent to come back into the game.
Sindhu faced the toughest opponent of Tai Tzu Ying in the
quarterfinals. She has a poor record against the former number 1. After losing
the first set by 12-21, Sindhu fought back strongly despite trailing in the 2nd the game, the Indian won the 2nd set at 23-21. The third set was also a
close fought game before, Sindhu her nerves to win it 21-19 to move into the
semi-finals.
PV Sindhu showed her class in the semi-finals decimating
Chen Yufei in two straight sets by 21-7, 21-14 to move into her 3rd
successive finals. The Indian played with aggression and created so much
pressure on the Chinese player with smashes and placements.
The finals which were supposed to be a cracker, Sindhu showed
her domination and defeated Okuhara in two straight sets by 21-7, 21-7 to win her
maiden World Champion title. Sindhu has now 5 titles in World Championships
which includes 2 bronze, 2 silvers, and 1 gold. With the Tokyo Olympics less
than 1 year away, the star shuttler should be looking to improve her
performance from the Rio Olympics and focus on winning the Gold medal in 2020.
Sai Praneeth also did the country proud by winning the
bronze medal. He becomes the 2nd Indian male shuttler after Prakash
Padukone to win a title at the World Championship level. Sai began the
tournament with a comprehensive win over Jason Anthony Ho-Shue in two straight
sets by 21-17, 21-16 to move into the 2nd round. It was a dominating
show by the Indian who outplayed his opponent with ease.
Sai Praneeth produced another dominating display of
badminton defeating Lee Dong Kyun in two straight sets by 21-16, 21-15 to move
into the pre-quarters.
In the round of 16, Sai stunned the sixth seed Ginting of
Indonesia in two straight sets by 21-19, 21-13. The first set was a close-fought affair, but the Indian held his nerves to win the 1st set
easily. Sai dominated the 2nd game and proved too much for his
opponent.
Sai stunned number 4th ranked Jonathan Christie
in the quarterfinals by 24-22, 21-14. The first game was a close-fought affair
with both players fighting for each point before, Sai held his nerves to win 1st
set at 24-22. The Indian played aggressive badminton in the 2nd game
and won the match easily.
The tournament for Sai ended in the semi-finals as he lost
to World number 1, Kento Momota in two straight games at 13-21, 8-21 to be
knocked out. The Indian played good badminton till 13-13 before the World
number 1 was too strong for the Indian.
With the Olympics just less than year away, the Indian
shuttlers would be looking to continue their performances in upcoming Super
Series and prove their worth at the big stage in 2020.
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