Riovenge: Sindhu beats her Rio conqueror Marin

New delhi,  PV Sindhu showed nerves of steel against the reigning Olympics champion and top seed, Carolina Marin, to clinch her maiden India Open World Super Series title.
Sindhu, world No. 5, took 47 minutes to edge past two-time world champion Marin in straight games 21-19 21-16 at the packed badminton arena in the Siri Fort complex. This was Sindhu’s second Super Series title of her career after winning the China Open crown in November 2016.
Sindhu’s head-to-head record against the world No. 3 Marin now stands at 4-5. This was Sindhu’s second meeting with Marin at the international level since their Rio Olympics final, which the Spaniard had won. At the group stage of the BWF Super Series Finals in Dubai in December last year, Sindhu had defeated Marin in straight games.
In today’s epic showdown, it was Sindhu who took an early (6-1) lead in the first game to enjoy a five-point cushion. Marin tried to make a comeback with the help of a couple of half-smashes at Sindhu’s backhand corner and even narrowed down the lead to 7-8. But Sindhu’s powerful crosscourt winners helped her extend the lead to 11-9 at the mid-game break.
After the change of ends, Marin started to engage Sindhu at the net with her perfectly-timed flicks, which allowed the Spaniard to draw parity at 16-all. Marin did not allow Sindhu to engage her in long rallies and looked for more net play. This allowed Marin to even take a one-point lead at 18-17 and then 19-18, but Sindhu was in no mood to offer her opponent any opening. Sindhu reached the game point when Marin’s backhand flick landed outside the sideline. The third-seeded Indian pocketed the first game when Marin’s return went wide.
In the second game, Sindhu opened up a four-point lead at 4-0 but found Marin breathing down her neck at 7-8. Sindhu forced Marin to commit errors as the Spainard was relying on her angled drop shots and half-smashes. At the second break, Sindhu led 14-9 to enjoy a five-point cushion. With the scoreline reading 19-14 in Sindhu’s favour, the Hyderabadi girl reached championship point when Marin’s shot landed outside the baseline.
Sindhu’s moment of glory arrived soon as Marin’s return shot to Sindhu’s bodyline smash found the net. Sindhu won the winner’s purse of $24,375, while Marin had to remain content with $12,350.
Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen had a flight to catch
In the men’s singles final, Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen 21-13 21-10 in a one-sided contest to win his maiden India Open title on his third attempt. The world No. 4 Axelsen took just 36 minutes to finish his long-pending mission. “I had a flight to catch this evening, so I wanted to finish off the game as quickly as possible. A three-setter could have upset my plan,” Axelsen revealed with a laugh.
Other results
Men’s final: Viktor Axelsen bt Chou Chen Tien 21-13, 21-10
Men’s doubles final: Marcus Gideon Fernaldi/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo bt Ricky Karanda Suwardi/Angga Pratama 21-11, 21-15
Women’s doubles final: Shiho Tanaka/Koharu Yonemoto bt Naoko Fukuman/Kurumi Yonao 16-21, 21-19, 21-10
Mixed doubles final: Lu Kai/Huang Yaqiong bt Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen 22-24, 21-14, 21-17
What they said
After China Open, this is my second title and that too at the start of the year. I would like to thank the spectators, they were really very supportive. It’s been really nice because the whole stadium was cheering for both of us. — PV SINDHU
I really played well. The first game was really crucial for me. It was a good match overall. I am really happy with my performance. She also played well. For both of us, the first game was really important. From the start both of us were fighting for every point. There were no easy points, there were long rallies. You never know because each point was important. It’s just that every point was important for both of us. — PV SINDHU
My best performance was at the Olympics. That was my goal for the year. After that I got some injuries but from January, I am just getting better. But this week gave me some confidence. Now I am motivated to fight hard and keep going in the next tournaments. — Carolina Marin
Sindhu is just 21 and I think she will take us through for the next few years and by the time she is 25, we will figure something. I don’t want to pick a junior name right now, but I can assure you that four years from now we will have solid bench strength in women’s singles. — P Gopichand, on India’s bench strength

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