It was a huge heartbreak for the Indian fans as star shuttler PV Sindhu lost her semi-final match against the better Tai Tzu-ying 18-21, 12-21. But all is not over for the 26-year-old from Hyderabad, as she will take on Chinese Hee Bingjiao in a bronze medal match on Sunday at 5 PM IST. Sindhu has been in fine form in these games except for her semi-final bout, where she was knocked out under the guise, deceit and speed of a Taiwanese girl.
So far, Sindhu had done a lot better in the nets and her attacking game was commendable as well. But Tai Tzu had the answer to everything. He did not let the Indian walk freely on the court and deceived him with cross-court shots over the net. Also, Sindhu hardly had any time to react to her opponent’s body smashes – a weapon rarely used by shuttlers nowadays. If Sindhu wants to win her second Olympic medal, she definitely needs to know some aspects of her game, and she will know it better than anyone else in the world.
head to head
So far the Indians and their Chinese counterparts have played 15 matches against each other, with the latter leading 9-6. Sindhu hasn’t been able to make good use of her stature against Bingjiao, but if she wants to win, this should be her weapon.
Sindhu’s way to the bronze medal match
Tai Tzu defeated them outright in the semi-finals. Despite taking the lead for some time in the first game, she could not find the momentum. After the Indian player narrowly missed the first game, she was never able to make a comeback in the second game. She lost 18-21, 12-21.
Sindhu had a mixed game against the Japanese Yamaguchi in the quarter. After winning the first game easily 21-13, Sindhu lost 10 of the 12 points she played in the second game. At one point she was up 14-8, but then fell back to 18-14. Somehow she managed to pull things back.
Earlier, she was placed in Group J along with Ksenia Polikarpova of Israel and Ngan Yi Cheung of Hong Kong. Sindhu defeated Polikarpova 21-7, 21-10 and Cheung 21-9, 21-16. In the pre-quarterfinals, Sindhu defeated Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark 21-15, 21-13.
Bingjiao’s way to the bronze medal match
The Chinese girl had the smoothest campaign in the group matches and the Round of 16 clash, where her opponent – USA’s BW Zhang retired from the match. His first major challenge came against Nozomi Okuhara in the quarter, where he won three games, 13–21, 21–13, 21–14. She lost in three games to teammate Chen Yufei in the semi-finals.
PV Sindhu vs He Bingjiao: Who has the advantage?
Looking at past matches and overall form, Sindhu should be able to win her second consecutive Olympic medal. But the Chinese are known to be a fighter and will give it all to win a bronze for their country. But she has dropped a few games on her way to the bronze medal match, which means she has been a bit inconsistent. This may work in Sindhu’s favour.
Having said that, the player handling the pressure will come out on top and take home the medal.
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