PV Sindhu has well and truly grown! “I have improved a bit [in mental fortitude] because sometimes, couple of times before if I was leading and say she would fight back and take the lead, I would get nervous but now I have been comparatively much more stronger. In that case, I tend to think and lose crucial points,” Sindhu had said after her semi-final win on Saturday. She showed that improved mental strength on Sunday to win gold and bring up her 300th career win.
Nozomi Okuhara was threatening at all times to say the least. She was trying to engage Sindhu in longer rallies, tire her out like she always does but the Indian was up for everything that the Japanese threw at her this time.
Sindhu had three match points in the first game of the final, Okuhara saved two. Sindhu, however, showed nerves of steel and converted the last one.
PV Sindhu achieved three match points once again in the second game and this time, she converted it in the first time of asking. With the win, Sindhu completely rounded off the growth she talked about earlier and became the first Indian to win a title at BWF World Tour Finals.
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Sindhu had lost at this very stage last year when she was up against another Japanese – Akane Yamaguchi – but on Sunday, Sindhu showed excellent mental fortitude and great skills to win it this time.
Sindhu had lost a final to Okuhara in the World Championships last year and that was a classic but on Sunday, Sindhu was on top at almost all times, calm, decisive and sure of what she had to do and she bore fruits of that.
This is Sindhu’s second straight victory over Okuhara and she now leads 7-6 in their head-to-head record.
Sindhu began the match on top and took an early 3-1 lead. Okuhara just failed to settle into the match early on and Sindhu took advantage of it to get absolutely on top. She went into the break with an 11-6 lead.
At one point Sindhu led 14-9 in the first game but Okuhara came up with a massive fightback to level the proceedings at 16-16. From there though, Sindhu took control once again and charged ahead to close out the first game in 29 minutes.
PV Sindhu started the second game in the same vein as the first, taking an early 5-2 lead. However, Okuhara came right back with some proactive and attacking badminton, forcing Sindhu to make errors and levelled it at 7-7. However, Sindhu went into the break with an 11-9 lead after a 16-minute battle.
Sindhu kept herself in the lead after the break even though Okuhara consistently threatened to level it again. With Sindhu leading 15-12, a 48-shot breathtaking rally ensued.
Astonishing. Simply astonishing rally #badminton #HSBCBWFbadminton #HSBCBWFGuangzhouFinals #HSBCBWFWorldTourFinals pic.twitter.com/7WFw8CPRzO
— BWF (@bwfmedia) December 16, 2018
Sindhu showed amazing defensive skills but Okuhara took the point eventually. Both players picked up shots from almost impossible positions but Sindhu eventually lifted it shot and Okuhara smashed it to take the point.
However, Sindhu refused to get bogged down by all that challenge from Okuhara, stuck to her plan and did not show even an inch of impatience. There were nervy moments, Okuhara pushed her to the brink as expected but Sindhu came out with flying colours and a yellow metal, finally!
