New Delhi: Indian badminton is on upward swing. Less than a fortnight after the historic wins of Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth at the China Open, young P.V. Sindhu underlined the increasing dominance of the country’s players in world badminton on yet another Sunday.
World No.11 Sindhu staved off the challenge of lower-ranked Korean Kim Hyo Min in the women’s singles finals, to retain the Macau Open Grand Prix title in style. The 19-year-old won 21-12, 21-17. In the process, the Hyderabadi shuttler also picked up her season’s first title, to end the year on a high.
Bronze medallist at the Asian Games and the World Championships, Sindhu rallied on her smashes to open up a 19-9 lead in the first game. The Indian also held the upper hand in long rallies as her opponent struggled with her returns, with the former sealing the issue in 20 minutes.
The second game was a close affair with the Korean unleashing brilliant slices but Sindhu caught up with her and went ahead 17-13. A couple of wide hits from Kim allowed Sindhu to lay her hands on the winner’s cheque.
Said Sindhu from Macau, “It was a good match. Kim played really well, but I am happy that I could pull it off in the end.“This season has been good for me. I have had a couple of good wins against some top players. Today’s title win will motivate me to work harder and do better next year,” she added.
Chief coach Pulella Gopichand was content that his ward could maintain consistency throughout the match.
“She (Sindhu) was on the top of her game today. It was a quality match and I am happy that she managed to win. In world badminton, everyone is trying hard and coming into tournaments with their best preparations. Sindhu mantained her form throughout and prevailed at crucial points, and that made the difference,” Gopichand said.
“Though it was her first win this season, she had a couple of good finishes at the Worlds, the Asiad and the Commonwealth Games. It’s great that she ended the year on a high.”
Sindhu will next play the 2015 Malaysia Masters, after a month’s break.Gopichand opined that it was one of the best years for Indian badminton. “The hard work done over the years is paying off.
This year, we saw 6-7 shuttlers including (Parupalli) Kashyap, Ajay (Jayaram), Saina who have done exceptionally well. Youngsters like Srikanth, (H.S.) Prannoy or Sindhu, they have started believing in themselves.
The success is a result of their belief and hard work. I just hope, they are able to maintain it in future,” he said. Sindhu’s father P.V. Ramana was proud. “The win has come at the right time as she had not won for some time. It is a great encouragement for her to do well in the coming season,” he said.
