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Reflecting on her defeat in the BWF World Championships pre-quarterfinal match in women's singles, India's ace shuttler PV Sindhu on Thursday said that long breaks could be China's Wang Zhi Yi tactic, saying that she should have been "more patient".
"That's their way of tactic. I have to be focused, and I was, but again each point matters, right? At that point, even though she takes a break or not, if she's injured or not, you never know; maybe that's her way of game style, or that's her way of strategy. But for me, it is just that I need to focus and play every point and focus on every point," Sindhu said after her defeat. The five-time World Championships medallist's campaign ended in the Round of 16 as she lost 11-21, 21-15, 17-21 to World No. 2 Wang in an 88-minute contest at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Thursday. Wang received medical attention during the deciding game and appeared to be struggling with cramps before returning to the court. She eventually held her nerve to win the match and advance to the quarterfinals. Sindhu said she felt she had a chance to win the match, particularly after the score reached 17-17 in the deciding game. "I don't know if she had an injury; maybe that was her tactics and her way of doing it. But I should have converted that into a win, is what I felt because there were long rallies; it was a good match... 17-all at that point, every point matters and I should have been a little more patient is what I felt," she said. Sindhu made a slow start and lost the opening game 11-21 but fought back strongly to win the second 21-15 and force a decider. The final game was closely contested, with the Indian levelling the score at 15-15 after Wang had taken a 15-13 lead. Wang then moved ahead again and eventually secured match point before sealing the contest with a drop shot. The loss ended Sindhu's hopes of winning a sixth World Championships medal. It also ended her unbeaten record against Chinese players at the World Championships, having won all eight of her previous matches against them. The defeat was painful for Sindhu, but she said she would look to learn from the experience and return stronger. "It does hurt a lot more because after you train and work hard for so long, losing these kinds of matches definitely hurts a lot. But I think, I mean, it is a game; that is how it is supposed to be. I think you will get much stronger that way and bounce back stronger and learn from your mistakes. Whatever is done is done, and I think now is the time to go back and see and do whatever is required," she said. Sindhu's focus will now shift to the Asian Games. "The next important big one is the Asian Games. So yeah, I need to go back, relax and focus on that," she said. Her exit also brought India's singles campaign at the home World Championships to an end. Earlier on Thursday, Ayush Shetty lost 19-21, 11-21 to Indonesia's Alwi Farhan in the men's singles Round of 16. (ANI)
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