Manila: PV Sindhu lost in three games against Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the Badminton Asia Championships semi-final on Saturday, and had to settle for a bronze medal.
The 26-year-old Indian Olympic medalist got off to a good start in the match but couldn’t keep it up, losing 21-13, 19-21, 16-21 against top seed and world No. 2 Yamaguchi in a one-hour and six-minute contest. Although Sindhu did not agree with the chair umpire’s decision, as the Indian thought she was the victim of a bad call that influenced the match’s outcome.
Sindhu had won the first game 21-13 and was leading the second game 14-11 when the dispute erupted. The fourth-seeded Sindhu was given a point penalty for taking too long to serve between points at this moment, which led to a disagreement with the chair umpire.
The two-time Olympic medalist was spotted fighting with the referee, claiming that she needed more time to serve since her opponent was not ready. But her pleadings were ignored, and Yamaguchi was docked one point.
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Yamaguchi battled back and won the game to go to the third game of the match. The Japanese won the semi-final after dominating the third game.
“The umpire told me you’re taking a lot of time but the opponent wasn’t ready at that point,” said Sindhu after the match.
“But the umpire suddenly gave her the point and it was really unfair. I think that was one of the reasons why I lost. I mean that is my feeling because at that moment it was 14-11 and could have become 15-11 but instead it became 14-12 and she took continuous points. And I think it was very unfair. Maybe I would have won the match and played in the final.”
PV Sindhu didn't hold back in her post-match interaction. "Totally unfair on the umpire's part," she says for asking her to hand over the serve to Akane Yamaguchi at 14-11 for apparent delay. #BAC2022
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“The umpire told me you’re taking a lot of time but the opponent wasn’t ready at that point,” said Sindhu after the match. But the umpire suddenly gave her the point and it was really unfair. I think that was one of the reasons why I lost. I mean that is my feeling because at that moment it was 14-11 and could have become 15-11 but instead it became 14-12 and she took continuous points. And I think it was very unfair. Maybe I would have won the match and played in the final.”
Bronze medallist PV Sindhu not present at the presentation ceremony of Asia Championships.
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— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) May 1, 2022
Unseeded Wang Zhiyi recently defeated the world champion Akane Yamaguchi in the women’s singles final of the Badminton Asia Championships, claiming an unexpected win.
