By Ila Ananya
After a really tense match against Carolina Marin at Siri Fort in Delhi, PV Sindhu won the 2017 Yonex Sunrise Indian Open title, 21-19, 21-16!
Right from the start, Marin and Sindhu seemed to be fighting for every point and in moments there only seemed to be long rallies. As Sindhu is reported to have said after the match, “From the start, both of us were fighting for every point”.
Sindhu started off with a huge 6-1 lead in the game, which Marin began to catch up with. Marin left Sindhu with just a 2 point lead around the hallway mark of the first game—at one point Marin even took the lead at 18-17, but Sindhu played extremely well under the pressure to win the first game 21-19. The second game was a lot like the first, and finally, after Marin asked for a change in the shuttle and a lift crashed on the net, Sindhu won the match point, and the title.
Of course we all remember that the last time Sindhu played Marin was during the 2016 Rio Olympics final. It’s also true that for everyone who has followed Sindhu, this match was a rematch of that Olympics final. Marin had won it in three games—it seems hard to write about Sindhu’s win this time without referring to that match.
But back then we also remember how many uncle-jis went and posted a list of dos and don’ts on her Facebook page, followed by a long message on how she hadn’t lost to Marin because Marin was a better player, but because of her “unforced errors” and because she “played with anger”. With this match, Sindhu’s now set the head-to-head record between the two Olympics finalists at 5-5.
These uncles should have gone home then only, but Sindhu also reminded us after this match that “It’s not about winning or losing.” “You just have to work hard and give your best. We have played our best matches at the Olympics Games. But I think ups and downs are part of life but you will have to come back and train harder to improve yourself and that’s what is really important,” she said.
We can’t wait for her next match.