BWF Tour finals: PV Sindhu suffers loss against Tai Tzu Ying on day 1

Day 1 of BWF Tour Finals was bound to be interesting for fans as two Indian badminton stars, PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth would be seen in action.

First up reigning world champion PV Sindhu faced a tough draw against current world no. 1 Tai Tzu Ying. While Sindhu was seen struggling with her form in both the previous Thailand Open editions, Tai reached the finals of both the tournaments. Unfortunately for the Indian, Tai prevailed this time beating Sindhu in a three-game battle on day 1 of the BWF Tour finals.

The match began tightly with Tai enjoying a slender advantage. Sindhu seemed to be in two minds as she let her opponent run away with some easy points. The Chinese Taipei shuttler looked in control of the game often stretching Sindhu with her cheeky drop shots and well-worked cross-court smashes. However, the Indian megastar showed immense character she turned the game around. She not only managed to stay in the game but also nicked at the end. Although Tai was effortless in the match, the Rio silver medalist found her mojo back in the right time.

The final battles

Tai Tzu Ying didn’t seem to take the first game loss lightly, as she roared back with a massive lead in the second bout. She stood her ground and pushed the match to go for a decider.

Tai again took a narrow lead in the third game. She used her wide array of shots well to keep Sindhu guessing throughout the bout. The Indian megastar didn’t look at her best as her reading on the game pulled her down. At the end, despite Sindhu trying her best, Tai proved to be the better shuttler today. Tai Tzu Ying took the match after a thrilling three-game clash. The scores were, 19-21, 21-12, 21-17.

“It was a good match, there were no easy points. In the third game I came back and it was just one point difference at one stage. I broke my racket strings twice (during rallies) and that made a difference. Otherwise, it was a good game,” PV Sindhu said. She will hope for a better performance in the tour ahead.

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