BWF World Championships: PV Sindhu ready for Tai Tzu Ying

BWF World Championships: It has been a impressive run to the quarterfinals of the BWF World Championships for PV Sindhu. On Thursday, the defending champion broke her recent jinx to get past Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong in straight games to set up a mouthwatering clash against Tai Tzu Ying in the quarterfinals. Follow BWF World Championships Live on InsideSport.IN

Also read: Kidambi Srikanth enters Quarterfinals, will play Mark Caljouw for place in Semifinals

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4 Indians in Quarterfinals – Check their Last 8 Opponents

PV Sindhu vs Tai Tzu Ying (TPE) @ 2;30PM
Kidambi Srikanth vs Mark Caljouw (NED) @ 2:30PM
HS Prannoy vs Loh Kean Yew (SIN) @ 6:00 PM
Lakshya Sen vs Zhao Yun Peng (CHN) @ 5:00 PM

The rub of the green has not favoured PV Sindhu when it comes to contests against the Taiwanese. Sindhu has a poor head-to-head record against Tai on the tour, losing 14 of their 19 meetings so far. And the memory of the semifinal loss to Tai Tzu Ying in the Tokyo Olympics will also be fresh in PV Sindhu’s memory.

BWF World Championships: Sindhu’s big-game ability vs Tai Tzu Ying’s superior record, who will come up trumps?

But PV Sindhu becomes a different beast when it comes to big-ticket events. And not to forget the last time the two-time Olympic medallist got the better of Tai Tzu, it was at this very event in the quarterfinals. She eventually went on to win the competition.

With delightful mixture of precise attack & wall-like defence reigning world champion @Pvsindhu1 beat 🇹🇭’s Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-14, 21-18 in the R16 and made her way into the quarter finals at #BWFWorldChampionships2021 👊#WorldChampionships2021 #IndiaontheRise #Badminton pic.twitter.com/8XlT7u2Bgy

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) December 16, 2021

“Well, tomorrow is against Tai. We are playing again now after Olympics. I just want to give my best, no matter what. It’s not going to be an easy match, I need to be prepared for a long rally and a big match. So from my side, I will give my 100%,” Sindhu told BWF after the match.

Former national coach Vimal Kumar feels Sindhu’s familiarity with the style of Tai Tzu will help her, not to mention the fact that the World No 1 has not played too much badminton. That was also on display as she was made to fight for the quarterfinal spot by Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour, needing three games to beat her opponent 21-10, 19-21, 21-11 on Thursday.

BWF World Championships: Sindhu’s big-game ability vs Tai Tzu Ying’s superior record, who will come up trumps?

“Sindhu has played her (TTY) many times and even though the record is in Tai Tzu’s favour, I’m sure Sindhu will prepare well and having more match fitness will be another factor which will aid Sindhu. Tai Tzu has not played as many matches as her and will be rusty for sure,” Vimal Kumar told InsideSport.

Day 5 opening match as defending champion Pusarla V. Sindhu 🇮🇳 meets Thai star Pornpawee Chochuwong 🇹🇭.#BWFWorldChampionships #Huelva2021 pic.twitter.com/ELNolhw6q6

— BWF (@bwfmedia) December 16, 2021

Her display on Thursday will give a lot of confidence to the defending champion. Sindhu ended her 2-match losing streak to Chochuwong with a dominant display of power hitting and fast rallies. She also maintained her record of reaching at least the quarterfinals of every edition of the BWF World Championships she has been part of.

Shedding light on her big-match ability, Sindhu told BWF, “Well yeah, people keep telling me that. I take it as a positive thing and just hope that it works every single time. No, just joking. I honestly don’t know… I just don’t know how I play at times like this. But it’s good to be on the winning side at the big events.”

BWF World Championships: Sindhu’s big-game ability vs Tai Tzu Ying’s superior record, who will come up trumps?

Badminton