Heartbreak for India as PV Sindhu’s Paris Olympics journey comes to an abrupt end. Overpowered by He Bingjiao’s aggressive play, Sindhu couldn’t find her rhythm. A tough loss to digest for India.
A day of mixed fortunes for India at the Paris 2024 Olympics as the badminton contingent faced a series of setbacks in the quaterfinals.While Indian badminton ace Lakshya Sen shone, the campaign for two times Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and the men’s doubles pair of Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty came to a disappointing end.
Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu’s journey at the Games was cut short in the pre-quarterfinals where she faced a huge challenge.
The Indian shuttler was outplayed by People Republic of China’s He Bingjiao, who emerged victorious with a 21-19, 21-14 scoreline. Despite a promising start, Sindhu couldn’t maintain the momentum, succumbing to the Chinese player’s aggressive play.
Her face was in visible distress as the opponent from China kept pressing her to hardships. PV Sindhu, ranked thirteenth in the world, faced an uphill battle from the outset.
She fell behind early against ninth-ranked He Bingjiao, who dominated with powerful smashes that overwhelmed the Indian. Though Sindhu managed to level the score at 19-19, her Chinese opponent ultimately clinched the first game.
In the second game, He Bingjiao quickly established a commanding lead that Sindhu was unable to overcome. A combination of unforced errors from the Indian and the relentless attacking play of her opponent led to a swift victory for the Chinese shuttler.
The men’s doubles pair of Satwik and Chirag, ranked world number five, also suffered a shock defeat. The Indian duo was unable to hold on to a promising lead, eventually losing to the Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik 12-21, 21-14, 21-16.
Amidst the disappointment, Lakshya Sen emerged as a lone beacon of hope for India. The world number 22 displayed dominant form, comfortably defeating compatriot HS Prannoy 21-12, 21-6 to secure a place in the quarterfinals. Sen’s victory marks a significant achievement, as he becomes only the third Indian to reach this stage of the Olympic badminton tournament.
With Sen being the sole Indian representative remaining in the competition, all eyes will be on him as he faces Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen in the quarterfinals.
India’s badminton fans will be hoping for a turnaround in fortunes as Sen takes tothe court.
