Sindhu goes down fighting in semis

Tokyo: Indian ace shuttler PV Sindhu's hopes of repeating her Rio 2016 finish of a silver medal or bettering it with a gold ended as she lost to top-seed Tai Tzu-Ying in straight games – 18-21, 12-21 – in the semifinal of women's singles badminton on Saturday. However, Sindhu, the reigning world champion, is still in contention for a podium finish as she'll feature in the bronze medal match against Bingjiao of China – who had lost the first semi-final – on Sunday. Heading into the semifinal, Sindhu had a mediocre 5-13 record against the World No 1 Tai, and the silver medallist from the last Olympic games finished just a little short against her biggest nemesis. Sindhu had trumped Tai at the Rio Olympics in 2016, World Tour Finals in 2018 and the World Championships in 2019. Unfortunately, Tokyo 2020 wasn't going to be one of them. Winning the toss, Sindhu opted for the near end of the court and immediately got involved in the first long rally of the match to nose ahead 4-3. A couple of error is judgments from the World No. 1 gave Sindhu the opportunity to extend the lead to 8-5.

A few flat exchanges near the net and a brilliant forehand smash helped Tai come back strong and make it 11-11. The next few points were earned over either brilliantly-placed drop shots or cross-court smashes. Tai, known for her bag of trickery, dug deep and foxed Sindhu time and again, who was expecting a smash but received drop shots which the World No 7 couldn't pick. And still, Sindhu was vigilant enough to keep stretching her opponent. The momentum shifted in Tai's favour with four straight points, and building on it, she sealed the first game 21-18.

While Game 1 began pretty much in even keen, Tai upped hers in the second. Although it was pretty much neck-and-neck until the first few points, Sindhu had no answer to Tai's magnificent cross-court play. From 4-4, Tai raced to a 9-5 lead, with a mix of great service, smashes, returns and backhands. Like the first game, Tai once again picked up four straight points and stormed ahead to take a 16-8 advantage. Sindhu had the opportunity to narrow the gap early in the game, but once it slipped away, it was never going to be enough. Fittingly, it was a cross-court forehand smash that gave Tai a place in the final.

Sindhu had stormed into the women's singles semifinals after a thrilling win over Japan's Akane Yamaguchi. The Indian shuttler defeated Yamaguchi 21-13, 22-20 to set up a date with Tai Tzu-Ying in the semis

Sindhu had won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016 after she went down to Spain's Carolina Marin in the final in a thrilling encounter. Since then, the Indian shuttler has won the World Championships gold in 2019 and won silver medals at the World Championships in 2017 and 2018. Sindhu also won the silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games and 2018 Commonwealth Games.