Kuala Lumpur: Two-time Olympic medalist shuttlecock PV Sindhu tried hard but couldn’t find a way to get past her nemesis Tai Tzu Ying, who suffered another quarter-final defeat to withdraw from the Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament here on Friday.
A week after being outsmarted by the Chinese Taipei great at the Malaysia Open, seventh seed Sindhu again fell short against the world’s number 1. 2, losing 13-21 21-12 12-21 in a 55-minute clash.
It was Sindhu’s 17th defeat of his career to the silver medalist of the Tokyo Olympics, which the Indian has triumphed in all of their last seven encounters. The last time Sindhu defeated Tzu Ying was on her way to her 2019 World Cup gold in Basel.
It was normal for Tzu Ying as she rode on her precision and cheating game to get past a fighting Sindhu, who again flattered to cheat.
Tzu Ying made her intention clear from the start, as after an initially close duel, she managed to pull back from 10-9 to jump to 15-9 and hold onto her fortress to take the lead in the match.
After the change of ends, Sindhu seemed to find her way as she galloped to an 11-4 lead, then held the rallies tight to roar back into the game.
Carrying her momentum into the decider, the Indian led 7-3 at one point and for a moment it looked like she may have cracked the Tzu Ying code, but the second seed again managed to turn the tables and grab a two-point cushion at the final break.
It was a one-way street after the break, as Sindhu’s unforced mistakes and her rival’s brilliance turned the game completely in favor of Tzu Ying, who zoomed out to 19-11.
Another rally ended with the shuttle dropping right on the baseline when Tzu Ying had eight match points and converted it when Sindhu went back to the net.
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