Abhishek Mishra
The moment PV Sindhu stepped on to Court 1 to take on Putri Kusuma Wardani (world No. 9) of Indonesia, the atmosphere lit up and the crowd at the Adidas Arena in Paris erupted. Why not? The five-time World Championship medallist was beginning her quest for a sixth.
Unfortunately, Sindhu lost the quarterfinal clash against Wardani 14-21, 21-13,16-21. It was a thrilling battle.
The first game started with both shuttlers exchanging points until 6-6, but then Wardani took the lead and raced to 11-7 at the interval. After the break, Wardani maintained control and built a sizable lead to win the opening game. The experienced Indian made a few errors and attempted some deceptions which didn’t work.
The second game saw Sindhu charged up. The world No. 15 found the quick corners and smashed with good precision to take an 11-6 lead at the break. After the interval, she dominated the game, forcing Wardani to make errors and left her exhausted and clueless with clever placements, making it 20-9. Wardani saved four match points but Sindhu sealed the game to force a decider.
The final game witnessed a neck-and-neck battle. The break saw Wardani leading 11-9. Sindhu had a chance to close the gap and take a lead, but Wardani didn’t give her much chance with her precise shots. The match was hanging in balance at 17-16, but that’s when Indonesian raised her game and won four straight points to reach the semi-finals.
The head-to-head record between Sindhu and Wardani now stands 3-2 in favour of the latter. She will face Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the semi-finals. With Sindhu’s exit, India’s campaign in singles came to an end.
Dhruv and Tanisha bow out in quarters
The spirited campaign of the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto came to an end in the quarterfinals. They lost 15-21, 13-21 against the world No. 4 pair of Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei of Malaysia.
Kapila and Tanisha were eyeing India’s first-ever World Championship medal in mixed doubles. But they looked a bit rusty and lacked skill in deception, while the Malaysians capitalised on their errors. They were only the third Indian pair ever to reach the last eight at the World Championship after V Diju-Jwala Gutta (2009, 2010) and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Ashwini Ponnappa (2018).
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