So close, yet so far, must have echoed in more than a billion hearts yesterday as P.V. Sindhu lost her finals in the women’s badminton to Caroline Martin of Spain .It looked as if the sheer pressure and hopes of the nation would propel Sindhu to the gold, but it was not to be. She lost to a better player on the day and being young, she would learn and emerge stronger to take on more challenges.
Though ranked 10th at the start, Sindhu upset 3 higher-seeded players en route to the finals and her ferocious mood in the 2nd set of the semi-finals when she massacred the Japanese player, put her in a zone when adrenaline is running high and you can achieve anything.
Her structure is highly suited to the game as her long legs helped her retrieve anything and she had the stamina to go for a full 3 set tough match. Marin showed her that skill and experience are as important along with the other strengths. Marin had the capacity to quickly extend her lead and Sindhu had always to play catch up. Every point is important and Sindhu made some unforced errors, which proved too costly. She is also predictable as Marin could easily anticipate Sindhu’s deep return to her backhand from a forehand drop shot. Though Sindhu has a good all-around game, she has to be more flexible in her approach depending on the player she faces. Marin was certainly the better net player and Sindhu should have pushed more to the back of the court where Marin’s sight frame could not have the power of the smash Sindhu has. Marin has one fantastic shot which she used to good effect on 4 different occasions. I can only call it a smash/drop shot , when Marin cleverly smashes from deep in her court to place the shuttle deftly just beyond the net. When Sindhu was expecting a smash, the shuttle dropped deceptively out of her reach at the net.
In the first game it was sheer guts that propelled Sindhu to 19 all when she was trailing by 3 points and before Martin could realize it, Sindhu had taken the game away from her. Marin started well in the 2nd game and never allowed Sindhu to come close to her, knowing Sindhu’s fighting qualities. Though there was an element of fight back from Sindhu late in the game, Marin was too smart and won the game comfortably. The 3rd game also started familiarly with Marin leading but Sindhu fought bravely but Marin was too good for her.
Marin knew how to accelerate and increase the lead before Sindhu understood that she should fight back. Sindhu is only 21 and she has time on her side.
She is ideally built, a fighter and mentally tough. She needs to improve her deft net-play and vary the game according to the opponent, attacking their weakness rather than playing to outplay them. Sindhu is not prepared to tackle a body shot which Marin used to good effort on a couple of occasions.
On the whole a memorable match and the whole nation should be proud of her winning the silver medal in Badminton for the first time.