Thailand Open: PV Sindhu Bags Third Silver Of The Year

It was another final at the Thailand Open on Sunday where India’s top shuttler PV Sindhu was fighting off an old nemesis, Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in the women’s singles. But Sindhu failed to overcome Okuhara in nail-biting 50-minute match. She went down in the 21-15, 21-18 tussle and therefore had to settle for a silver.

This is the third silver medal for PV Sindhu in 2018. Earlier this year, she also won silvers at the India Open and Commonwealth Games

“Sindhu tried her best to counter her gameplan, but couldn’t sustain it over all the rallies,” coach Amrish Shinde said, Indian Express reported.

Congratulations @Pvsindhu1 for winning the Silver medal 🥈at the 2018 Thailand Open 👏

Sindhu fought hard but went down against the reigning World Champion @nozomi_o11 of Japan 15-21, 18-21 in the finals.

#ThailandOpen2018 pic.twitter.com/sqWK9kGXAS

— OGQ (@OGQ_India) July 15, 2018

World No 3 Sindhu has earlier had five encounters with the Japanese, and she won the most recent one at the All England championships, four months ago. But this time, the fourth-seeded and World No 8 Okuhara grabbed the chance to win the eleventh match between them. The second-seeded Sindhu couldn’t help but let her Japanese rival pocket the $26,250 Thailand Open badminton championships.

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Sindhu had reached the semi-finals on Saturday after a hard-fought battle. The Olympic silver medallist, this year, has successfully made it to Forbes List Of 30 Under 30 Asia 2018. She is enlisted among a total of four Indians included in the list’s ‘Entertainment & Sports’ category.

Sindhu, 22, was chosen by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to be the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the opening ceremony of the the Commonwealth Games tournament. The 2016 Olympic silver medallist has steadily earned this feat and is considered as the favourite in women’s singles.

With Asian Games round the corner, Sindhu carries a big responsibility on her shoulders. She has been training twice a day. The 22-year-old remains India’s biggest hope to win any major title. Her performance was outstanding at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, where she clinched a bronze. We wish her all the best!

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