 "A season of highs and lows for PV Sindhu")
At the Tap Seac Multi-sports Pavilion in Macau on Sunday, dressed in fulgent yellow and blue, P V Sindhu did what she does best. The lanky 19-year-old girl from Hyderabad was at her precocious best, pulverizing her opponent with a brand of badminton that has made her one of the most promising young talents in the world. A brand of tenacious, unrelenting badminton.
On match point against world no.91 Kim Hyo Min in the final of the Macau Grand Prix, Sindhu unleashed a series of smashes at her Korean opponent’s body, forcing her to send one wide and handing Sindhu her first title of the season. At the end of their 45-minute battle, Sindhu let out a mild scream before embracing her coaches at court side. The emotion was one of relief rather than elation.
It has been that kind of season for Sindhu. Despite winning medals at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, and also becoming the first Indian woman to win back-to-back medals at the World Championships this year, 2014 has been a relatively unfulfilling season for Sindhu. The triumph in Macau is a fitting way to end the season, but the world no.11 would be disappointed with winning just the one title in a year that promised so much.
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On Sunday, Sindhu outplayed her opponent with a clinical mix of aggressive hitting and deft touches. Kim often found herself wiggling on the floor, desperately trying to cut out Sindhu’s disguised drop shots – a tactic generally employed by Sindhu’s opponents because of her long frame. In a field devoid of the top four women players in the world – Li Xuerui, Wang Shixian, Wang Yihan and compatriot Saina Nehwal – Sindhu was always the favourite to defend her title in Macau. The win may not have a massive bearing on the world rankings or stand out as one of her best, but it's a title win nonetheless. Sindhu will likely head into next season brimming with confidence.
Sindhu’s major scalps this year both came at the World Championships in Copenhagen. She took out the then world no. 5 Bae Yeon Ju in the pre quarter-final, before assuring herself of a bronze medal by beating world no. 2 Wang Shixian in a marathon encounter in the quarter-final. While she does possess the game to upset the top guns, Sindhu’s consistency has been the major let down. When on song, Sindhu can dictate a game with ferocious attacking shots combined with subtle change-ups. But she is also often erratic with her stroke-play, giving up ground from comfortable winning positions. For a 19-year old, she has made massive strides in the sport. But at the end of the day, she’s still only 19. Hopefully, we will see the best of P V Sindhu in 2015.