Fighting the rising pressure of expectations, P.V. Sindhu tripped on the threshold of a successful title defence and left Zhang Beiwen celebrating her first major success.
It was heart-break for the large, vociferous crowd, as World No. 4 Sindhu blew away a match-point. Worse, she then lost the next three points in quick time to give the World No. 11 a 21-18, 11-21, 22-20 triumph in the $350,000 India Open badminton here on Sunday.
For Sindhu, the reigning finalist of the Olympic Games and World championship, this was a fifth loss in the final of a major title-clash. Her runner-up finishes came in the 2015 Denmark Open, 2016 and 2017 Hong Kong Open and the 2017 Super Series Finals.
This was the first time Sindhu has lost a final after holding a match-point. Not surprisingly, a disappointed Sindhu stayed away from the post-match press-conference.
Earlier, the men’s title when to World No. 8 China’s Shi Yuqi, who battled from deficit in the first game to race past Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen, ranked seventh, 21-18, 21-14.
Coming back to the women’s final, just when a large section of the crowd stood up in anticipation of a successful title defence as Sindhu served at 20-19 in the decider, her feeble dribble barely reached the net.
Zhang, 27, knowing the pressure was firmly on the home favourite, then came up with a cross-court smash beyond Sindhu’s reach to move within a point of the title. She did not have to work harder to clinch the match-point as Sindhu’s second return — a backhand flick from the front of the court — found the side-line.
The new champion previously had only three Grand Prix titles to show since 2014.
Zhang, without a travelling coach for the last seven years, had no court-side guidance during the mid-game intervals for at the end of each game. But she kept telling herself, “Don’t take pressure,” as she revealed later.
For the second straight year, Chou Tien Chen finished second best. But for the better part of the first game, the third seed looked in control, leading till 17-15.
At this point, Shi Yuqi enjoyed his best phase and won five points on the trot. This proved decisive as Chen’s rhythm was broken and he never looked the same in the remainder of the match.
The results (final): (prefix indicates seeding):
Men: 4-Shi Yuqi (Chn) bt 3-Chou Tien Chen (Tpe) 21-18, 21-14. Doubles: 1-Marcus Fernaldi Gideon & Kevin Sanjay Sukhamuljo (Ina) bt 4-Kim Astrup & Anders Skaarup Rasmussan (Den) 21-14, 21-16.
Women: 5-Zhang Beiwen (USA) bt 1-P.V. Sindhu 21-18, 11-21, 22-20.
Doubles: 3-Greysia Polii & Apriyani Rahayu (Ina) bt 2-Jognkolphan Kitiharakul & Rwindra Prajongjai (Tha) 21-18, 21-15.
Mixed doubles: 5-Mathias Christiansen & Christinna Pedersen (Den) bt Praveen Jordan & Melati Daeva Oktavianti (Ina) 21-14, 21-15.
