Macau: P V Sindhu continued to take giant strides towards asserting herself as the rising star of Indian badminton by lifting the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold title with a thumping win over Canada's Michelle Li in the summit clash, here today.
The top-seeded 18-year-old won the match 21-15, 21-12 in merely 37 minutes to clinch her second Grand Prix Gold title after the Malaysia Open in May. The Indian sensation, who was bestowed the Arjuna award this year, was ruthlessly dominant from start to finish in the lop-sided encounter against the seventh-seeded Canadian.
In the first game, Sindhu raced to a 7-0 lead within just two minutes of start of play before Li finally registered herself on the score sheet. But the Indian was relentless in her attack and never allowed any breathing space to her world number 30 rival.
Although Li managed to reduce the gap between the two to 9-6 at one stage but Sindhu managed to keep herself in front. In the end, it took just 16 minutes for Sindhu to pocket the first game 21-15.
The second game started on a slightly even note with both players going neck and neck for the first few minutes. The scores were level at 5-5 with Li displaying better command over netplay.
But Sindhu eventually broke through to go into the lead and was placed comfortably at 11-6 when the break was taken. The Indian did not let the momentum shift even once after that as she piled on the points, showing better control of the baseline to emerge champion.
Sindhu walked away richer by USD 9,000 from the event which offered a total prize money of USD 120,000. The year has been a remarkable one for the Hyderabad-based shuttler.
Besides the Malaysia Open triumph, she also became India's first women's singles medallist at the World Championship with back-to-back wins against fancied Chinese rivals in the mega-event.
This was India's first singles medal at the World Championships since Prakash Padukone won a bronze in the 1983 edition. She is seen as the next big thing in Indian badminton after Saina Nehwal, the Olympic bronze-medallist who has been enduring poor form this season.
Sindhu said she was confident that if she didn't make mistake she would win the title. "I was confident going into the final after I defeated the Chinese player and knew that if I did not make mistake I can win the title," Sindhu said after winning her second GP Gold title of the year.
National coach Pullela Gopichand said they had pulled Sindhu out of the China Open to put in a month long training and the plan worked very well. "We worked extensively on speed and aggression while at the academy during the preparation for the tournament and she executed it well in Macau," he said.
Madhumita Bisht, who is accompanying the team, said "Sindhu was a bit nervous in the earlier rounds but the way she played in the semifinals and the finals, she thoroughly deserved the crown."
This year has been good for Sindhu, says father
This year has been good for Sindhu, says father
Hyderabad: P V Sindhu's parents are elated over the rising Indian shuttler's victory at the Macau Open and are hoping to see their daughter continue the good work in the coming year.
The triumph ensured she capped off the season that saw her take giant strides in the sport, on a positive note.
"We are extremely happy. This year has been good for Sindhu. She received Arjuna award, bronze in world championship. Now, this win at the end of the year makes us happy," Sindhu's father P V Ramana told PTI here.
He hoped Sindhu would do well in the big tournaments like Asian Games, Super Series among others scheduled for next year. "The coach (Pullela Gopichand) would take care of that and I hope she would do well," he said.
Sindhu continued to take giant strides towards asserting herself as the rising star of Indian badminton by lifting the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold title with a thumping win over Canada's Michelle Li in the summit clash in today.
The top-seeded 18-year-old won the match 21-15 21-12 in merely 37 minutes to clinch her second Grand Prix Gold title after the Malaysia Open in May. The Indian sensation, who was bestowed the Arjuna award this year, was ruthlessly dominant from start to finish in the lop-sided encounter against the seventh-seeded Canadian.
