Not every lose is an end, and for PV Sindhu this is the beginning of many great milestone to be achieved in her long career ahead.
PV Sindhu, 17 year old, young Indian sensation who created a vibe by defeating London Olympics gold medalist Li Xuerui in the quarter finals, went down fighting 10-21 21-14 19-21 to the world no. 9 Chinese Jiang Yanjiao in the semi finals of Li Ning China Masters Super Series. The match that lasted over an hour, saw both players outclassing each other before entertaining the crowd with some fantastic smashes, drop shots and net plays including a long rallies for each point in the third set.
The first game which lasted for just 14 minutes saw Yanjiao teaching some lessons to Sindhu for beating her fellow country player in previous match. Sindhu was outclassed, no real long rallies. Sindhu looked unable to cope with Yanjiao playing style and match pretty much looked over until she came out all guns blazing in the second game. Sindhu took 6 points on a row but Yanjiao soon broke her serve and game was again back to balance. From leading by just 1 point on 14-13 in second set, Sindhu raced away to win the second game 21-14.
The last and third game saw the real battle for each point from both players. Serves are often broken down, there was no real big lead. Sindhu hanged onto the match by forcing long rallies and good volleys that made Yanjiao exhausted. With game locked at 19-19, two unforced errors from world no. 25 Sindhu saw Yanjiao winning the game and the match. It was grueling match that saw both players making too many unforced errors. Sindhu despite losing in semi final must take lots of heart from the match. She really gave tough competition for much higher ranked player in front of her home crowd.
In men’s semi final, India’s Ajay Jayaram lost 16-21 18-21 to Yun Hu of Hong Kong. Jayaram battled hard but made too many errors in the run to play. Again like Sindhu, Jayaram is promising talent and one to look out for future. With these two players losing in semi final, India’s participation at Li Ning China masters ends but it thrown up plenty of hopes in the names of Sindhu and Jayaram for Indian badminton strong future.
Tags: Ajay Jayaram, Badminton, future badminton star, Gopichand, India, Kashyap, Li Ning China masters super series 2012, prodigy, PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Semi-Final