It was a busy day for two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, who is making a comeback after an injury, as she first played her singles match against WR-14 Aya Ohiri and lost 13-21, 20-22, and then came back in a doubles encounter, at the Badminton Asia Team Championships semis against Japan, on Saturday.
Teaming up with seasoned Ashwini Ponnappa, in the absence of Tanisha Crasto, the Indian women lost to WR-11 pair of Rena Miyaura/Ayako Sakuramoto in straight games 14-21, 11-21. It was evident that Sindhu and Ponnappa weren’t really in the game, as they lacked coordination, right from the start.
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But the loss meant, Japan came back in the tie 2-2. Meanwhile, Crasto was not available for the tie, as she suffered a niggle during the quarters match against Hong Kong. India had the luxury of fielding another women’s doubles pair of Shruti Mishra/ Priya Devi Konjengbham, but decided against it.
