Tokyo 2020: PV Sindhu fails to clear the Tai Tzu-Ying hurdle

Hours after becoming world champion two years ago, PV Sindhu had told HT that her come-from-behind quarter-final victory against a certain Tai Tzu Ying “gave her the confidence” to go on and win the event, beating the then reigning All England champion Chen Yufei in the semis and then hammering former world champion Nozomi Okuhara to become India’s first and only world champion.

The Rio 2016 silver medallist was up against Tai Tzu once again, this time at the Tokyo Olympics. But on Saturday, there was no getting past the world No 1 player from Chinese Taipei. Sindhu was outplayed in all departments 21-18, 21-12 in 40 minutes in the semi-finals at the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza.

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“I’m a bit sad because it’s the semi-finals, but I tried my best. It’s just not my day. I fought until the end,” said a disheartened Sindhu. “I was prepared for her skills, so I don’t think that troubled me a lot. At the end of the day the level of the semi-finals is going to be really high, you can’t expect easy points. I just couldn’t be on the winning side.”

Though world No.7 Sindhu had beaten her in the last Olympics in the Round of 16, Tai Tzu has come a long way since to perhaps become the most complete and consistent player of this generation. World No.1 for the longest time and a three-time All England champion, the reigning Asian Games gold medallist has had the upper hand in battles against Sindhu, now extending her head-to-head record to 14-5.

Tai Tzu has also won all four meetings against Sindhu since the loss at the 2019 World Championships in Basel and has conquered every event there is apart from a major – Olympics or World Championship – driving her desire to finally triumph at the biggest stage of all.

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Quick on her feet, deceptive with almost every shot and her rubbery wrist making effortless drops, Tai Tzu dominated the match despite Sindhu leading for most of the first game.

Trying to reach her second straight Olympic final, Sindhu was neck-and-neck in the first game but just could not match the balance, poise and precision of Tai Tzu, who was steering the bird at will, attacking Sindhu’s body and giving her no room to get the angle for counter shots.

“Tai Tzu just outclassed Sindhu,” said former chief national coach U Vimal Kumar from Bengaluru. “She was right on top. Sindhu did not take much initiative at the net. In the first game, even though she had the lead, she was always content just lifting the shuttle to the back. When you are against the drift she could have been a little more aggressive. That didn’t happen.”

In the second game, Tai Tzu began to produce astonishing angles, her placements both deceptive and precise to the millimeter.

She pulled out numerous shots from her vast repertoire – drops, body smashes, half smashes, slices, net exchanges and the ability to recover the bird from nearly hopeless situations .

Sindhu could do little as her opponent set the tone and tenor of the match. Sindhu’s smashes dried up, her usual aggressive game wilted.

“I should have taken the first game, this is what I felt,” said Sindhu. “It was not easy, but it was crucial. If I would have won the first game, it would have been different. Even in the second game, I was fighting back and getting those couple of points but eventually she didn’t make any unforced errors.”

All’s not lost for Sindhu. Though her golden run of reaching the finals of every major since Rio 2016 came to an end, she will still be fighting for the bronze on Sunday against He Bing Jiao of China, who lost to compatriot Chen Yufei in three games. “I need to concentrate on that,” said Sindhu. “I hope I give my best. I’m going to try again tomorrow.”

Sindhu has a 6-9 record against He Bing Jiao but significantly won the last time they faced each other in 2019.