P V Sindhu came to the BWF World Championship in Glasgow with a determination to at least reach the final after two earlier attempts ended at the semi-final stage and the last one a step before that.
On the two occasions she had made it to the last four and thereby winning the bronze medals, Sindhu was still a greenhorn but this time around the Rio Olympics silver medallist was considered a pre-tournament favourite and by her own admission the dream run in Brazil has made her a lot more confident going into bigger tournaments.
She showed glimpses of that confidence and the improved game sense as she defeated her 19-year-old Chinese challenger Chen Yufei 21-13 21-10 in 48 minutes to make it to her first World Championship final where she will face Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara. Okuhara became the first Japanese player to reach the world championship final in 40 years after she got the better of Saina Nehwal in the earlier encounter to deny an All-Indian final at the Emirates Arena.
But Sindhu ensured that there would at least be one Indian in the summit clash on Sunday.
And whatever the scores suggest, her semi-final wasn’t really a lopsided affair. World junior champion Yufei wasn’t really a pushover as she possess a good array of strokes and she unleashed all the weapons on the Indian.
But the 22-year-old Sindhu didn’t just retrieve all that was thrown at her but was ready with her own counter-punches that flattened the 19-year-old opponent who was probably used to softer and easier points in the junior circuit.
Both the players went neck and neck in the first game till 8-8 before Sindhu stepped up the pace and raced to a 13-8 lead on the back of a few power down the line smashes and high tempo rallies that ended up forcing Yufei to make mistakes.
The Indian shuttler hardly looked back from then as she pocketed the first game in just 22 minutes and the Chinese hopes of making a match of it were dashed immediately in the second game as Sindhu opened up an 8-0 lead. There was no way back for Yufei as she hit a net tap long to hand her opponent a first-ever final berth in her fourth World Championship appearance.
“It was definitely not an easy match as there were long rallies and she was playing well. But I was prepared for her shots and that made the difference,” said Sindhu, who extended her 100 per cent record against the Chinese at the world championship to six matches now.
Sindhu had similarly demolished another Chinese Sun Yu in the quarterfinals in just 39 minutes on Friday and said the nerve-racking third round win over Hong Kong’s Cheung Ngan Yi was probably the turning point for her in the championship.
Confidence
“Your confidence suddenly goes up when you win such matches. I was under pressure in that match as she came back to save three game points in the second game but I managed to win the match. When that happens you tend to believe that something is going your way,” said the world number four.
In that match Sindhu started tentatively but since then she has ensured that she is in the game from the very first point and that changed approach gave dividend against both the Chinese opponents.
Sindhu now knows that becoming the first ever Indian to win a world title is a realistic goal and insists that she will give her best to achieve that feat. “It is a very special feeling to win a medal for India in such major events. Once you are in the final you want to win it and I will do my best to achieve that.”
Sindhu has 3-3 head-to-head record against Okuhara but has won their last two encounter including the semi-finals of the Rio Olympics. “Yes, I beat her in Rio but that won’t count here. She has been playing well. We both know each other’s game well and it would be another tough match in the final,” she added.
Okuhara has really raised her game since returning from injury earlier this year and the player who can win the battle of will power and attrition will be crowned the new world champion on Sunday.
All of India would be hoping that Sindhu can be that person.