BWF World Championships: A familiar sight greeted Indian badminton fans as they watched the BWF World Championships quarterfinals between PV Sindhu and Tai Tzu Ying. The defending champion gave it her all, but the Taiwanese shuttler was always one step ahead. And in the end, Tai Tzu emerged triumphant with a scoreline of 21-17, 21-13 and ensured a first World Championships medal. This was Sindhu’s 5th straight defeat to the World No. 1. Follow BWF World Championships Live on InsideSport.IN
The win meant the head-to-head record now stands at 15-5 in favour of the Taiwanese. In the process, Tai Tzu avenged her defeat to Sindhu in the 2019 World Championships at the same stage. The World No 7 Sindhu had also lost to Tai Tzu in the Tokyo Games semifinals earlier this year as well.
“Sindhu’s biggest mistake was that she made too many unforced errors. She should have made Tai Tzu work harder for points instead of going for broke. If she could have changed the pace of the rallies, slowed it down at times, things could have ended differently.”
“She needs to realise that brute force won’t always work against a player of Tai Tzu’s ilk. She should have tried to defend more and kept the rally going. TTY would have erred then. But i’m sure a champion like Sindhu will learn going forward,” former national coach Vimal Kumar told InsideSport.
BWF World Championships: PV Sindhu fails to break Tai Tzu Ying riddle, she should have tried to change the pace of the contest, says former coach
Tai Tzu, on the other hand, avenged her defeat to Sindhu in the 2019 World Championships at the same stage.
Tai Tzu Ying and Pusarla V. Sindhu open Day 6 in Huelva with a highly anticipated quarterfinals match-up.#BWFWorldChampionships #Huelva2021 pic.twitter.com/N9N7IPY8ug
— BWF (@bwfmedia) December 17, 2021
A lot was written and spoken about PV Sindhu’s big-game mentality, however, Tai Tzu was in a class of her own. She got off to a blazing start, controlling the rallies early in the opening exchanges. and went into the break with a 11-6 lead in less than 10 minutes. Her drop shots and deceptive strokes proved too much for the Indian to handle.
“Tai Tzu was excellent. Her ability to hit deceptive shots while also making Sindhu work was the perfect ploy. Sindhu seemed to lose the plot when she most needed composure in the second game,” Vimal Kumar added.
BWF World Championships: PV Sindhu fails to break Tai Tzu Ying riddle, she should have tried to change the pace of the contest, says former coach
Sindhu did stem the tide and at one point reduced the gap to two points twice — 16-18 and then 17-19 with some fine cross-court smashes. But the Indian could not maintain the tempo till the end as she hit wide twice to lose the first game in 17 minutes.
Tai Tzu’s speed, anticipation and court coverage were exemplary and her drop shots proved too difficult to handle for Sindhu who tried to bulldoze her way using her superior physicality.
The second game was a much closer affair at the start. At one point, the score read 12-12. But then, the nimble-footed Tai Tzu took control of proceedings as unforced errors started creeping into the two-time Olympic medallist’s game which signalled the end of Sindhu’s campaign.
BWF World Championships: PV Sindhu fails to break Tai Tzu Ying riddle, she should have tried to change the pace of the contest, says former coach
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