Indian shuttler PV Sindhu scripted history by winning the World Tour Finals as she defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-19, 21-17 in a one-sided final.
PV Sindhu had reached the final day of a tournament seven times since September 2017 and had come up with a silver medal. On Sunday (December 16), in Guangzhou, China, that streak ended and the colour of the medal around her neck turned to yellow!
With a 21-19, 21-17 win over Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara, Sindhu also became the first Indian shuttler to win gold at the year-ending tournament which pits the top-8 ranked players in the world. Previously, Saina Nehwal had reached the summit clash of 2011 World Super Series Finals and Jwala Gutta/V Diju contested the final in 2009.
Astonishing. Simply astonishing rally #badminton #HSBCBWFbadminton #HSBCBWFGuangzhouFinals #HSBCBWFWorldTourFinals pic.twitter.com/7WFw8CPRzO
— BWF (@bwfmedia) December 16, 2018
P V Sindhu let out tears of joy and relief when she when she thumped a smash across the net and finally laid her hands on a gold medal, thus becoming the first ever Indian to do so.
“I feel really happy and I think I have no words because this is my first win in this year and every time I have been coming to the final and losing. This will be the most memorable this year because I think it was a good game and I’m really very proud. I think the year has ended on a beautiful note.”
“I would like to thank each and everybody who has supported me and showed me their love. The fans here in Guangzhou have been fantastic. I would also like to thank my coaches, my physios and my sponsors,” Sindhu said after the match.
The Game: As it happened!
In the first game, Okuhara made a couple of errors and Sindhu took an early lead.
Sindhu used some drop shots and looked good at the net to lead 7-3 but Okuhara narrowed down the deficit to 5-7. Sindhu dominated the next long rally and nosed ahead 11-6 at the mid-game break.
After the breather, Sindhu extended her lead to 14-6 before Okuhara reeled off four successive points to narrow the deficit.
Okuhara seemed to control the proceedings next as she erased the deficit to claw back at 16-16. In fact, the Japanese grabbed 10 of the 12 points after being down 6-14 down, to draw parity.
But Okuhara also smashed wide twice to hand Sindhu a 19-17 advantage. The Indian grabbed three-game point advantage but Okuhara managed to save two before Sindhu sealed the opening game with a superb drop shot.
Sindhu, however, managed to always stay ahead and led 11-9 at the interval after Okuhara lost a video referral.
A return to the net gave Sindhu an 18-16 lead. A long rally ensued and it ended with Okuhara leaving it shot and Sindhu unleashing a smash to move to 19-16.
“I am the winner. No one can say I don’t win in finals, I have won the gold and this win is really special to me.”
Watch the Rio 2⃣0⃣1⃣6⃣?medalist @Pvsindhu1 speak on her #BWFWorldTourFinals win#IndiaontheRise #badminton pic.twitter.com/nXIkMMTETf
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) December 16, 2018
A lucky net chord took the Indian one step away from the title. Sindhu grabbed three match points and converted them immediately to seal the issue in her favour.
Since September 17, 2017, at the Korea Open, Sindhu reached the finals of Hong Kong Open, BWF World Tour Finals, India Open, Commonwealth Games, Thailand Open, World Championships and Asian Games but came out with a silver medal each time.
Sindhu concluded, “Somewhere everyone has been asking me the same question and I think the question won’t come to me again that why all the time coming to the final and losing the final. In fact, I think now I would say I have won a gold and I am really very proud about it.”
KreedOn wishes heartiest Congratulations to the champion on her invincible victory!
