Heartbreak for PV Sindhu, Sameer Verma In Hong Kong
After winning the China Open, PV Sindhu became the highest ranked female Indian player. She made a strong start to her next tournament, Hong Kong Open. She comfortably reached the final, having dropped only one game against Xiaoyu Liang. But, she suffered a straight games loss in the final to 4th seed Tzu Ying. And, India’s hopes then shifted to the 22 year-old Sameer Verma to lift the title, however, even that did not happen as he went down fighting in a thriller of a match.
Sindhu lost her match 21-15, 21-17, however, Verma lost his match 14-21, 21-10, 11-21 against Long Angus Ng.
PV Sindhu eases past in opening rounds
The tournament started off on a very exciting note for Sindhu. Her first match was against Susanto Julia Yosephin of Indonesia. The 21-year-old advanced to the next round with two straight games, giving her audiences high hopes. Her second round was against Hsu Ya Ching of Taipei. The China Open seemed to have amassed her in good shape. This match too, had her beat the Taipei shuttler in straight games, hence advancing to the quarterfinal with 21-10, 21-14 win.
The Real Battle
The quarterfinal had PV Sindhu squaring off against Xiaoyu Liang of Singapore. This match was apprehended to be the toughest of them all, as Sindhu and Liang have a past record, all in favour of the Singaporean shuttler. But surprisingly, the match ended on an exceptional note for the Indian. Sindhu was off to a difficult start with Liang taking the lead in the early stages of the opening game. Nonetheless, a consecutive four points in the first game saw her take a 14-10 lead.
The second game was not in favour of the Hyderabadi. The second game began in a similar fashion to the first. The lead changed hands many a time and finally reached a head to head situation at 18-18, setting up a nerve wrecking finish. After a few marvelous shots from both the players, the game reached a tie at 21-21, extending the play to 23. Liang clinched the next two points to extend the match to a decider.
The decider seemed to be going away from India as the game reached a point where Sindhu trailed by seven points at 14-7. But Sindhu proved her mettle once again by staging an astounding fight, to win consecutive points to tie the scores. After a few close-to-the-net drops and some wonderful shots, the game ended with the Indian shuttler clinching the match 21-17, 21-23, 21-18, advancing her the semifinal against Cheung Ngan Lyi of Hong Kong.
The semi-final started off on a pretty good note for Sindhu. The beginning of the game seemed to move a bit too slowly. Regardless, the Hong Kong based shuttler began to feel the heat, with Sindhu taking an exceptional lead of 14-9. Soon, the game ended in Sindhu’s favour at 21-14. The second game seemed to have brought out the best in the 21-year-old. Although the game started off in favour of Lyi, Sindhu quickly picked herself up and took an amazing lead. The game finally ended with the Indian shuttler clinching the match with a remarkable 21-14, 21-16.
The Final Chapter
The Final was quite heartbreaking for both the China Open winner and her fans. The match was against world No.3, Tai Tzu Ying of Taipei. PV Sindhu got off to a good start as she took the lead to 6-3 in the opening game. But she soon dissipated the opportunity by making some unforced errors, letting go of 8 consecutive points. Ying made use of this advantage and held onto the momentum, clinching the first game at 15-21.
The second game began in favour of Sindhu, as she took the lead 4-1. However, the world No.3 played a remarkable game, putting her forehand smashes to use. Soon, it turned out to be a neck to neck game at 9-9. However, the Indian could not maintain her momentum leading to unforced errors putting her on the back-foot. Ying continued her dominance over the Rio Olympic finalists, having already beaten Carolina Marin in the semi-final.
Sameer Verma tried to win the gold for India
While all eyes were on the Olympic silver medallist, PV Sindhu, there was another exceptional Indian talent in the final of the men’s singles at Hong Kong Open, Sameer Verma. He came under the spotlight having stolen the match away from world No. 3 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark with an astounding 21-19, 24-22 in the semi-final. Verma fought valiantly in the final having gone down in the first game, he made a quick recovery to keep hopes alive for an Indian winner. However, the home favourite Angus had other plans in the decider taking the match away from his rival 21-14, 10-21, 21-11.
With the results turning to a positive now, a lot can be expected from India’s badminton stars. Saina Nehwal is yet to return to her best, as she continues to improve with every tournament, however, youngsters like PV Sindhu and Sameer Verma continue to make huge strides for the country in Badminton.