Sindhu loses Tokyo semi to Tai in the mind

Sindhu gives up Gold, to fight for Bronze at Tokyo

India’s PV Sindhu was comprehensively outclassed by World No 1 Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-Ying in her women’s single semifinal match at Tokyo Olympics on July 31, 2021.

Sindhu, who had not dropped a single game so far in this tournament, went down 18-21, 12-21 in a consummate show of shots by her opponent who had Sindhu gasping for survival in the second game.
Sindhu lost a seven-point lead in the first game to unforced errors, net trouble, out of court smashes and the unforgivable wrong baseline judgements.

With too many unforced errors, Sindhu not just lost the first game on the court but also in her mind and once Tai consolidated her lead in the second game, there was never any hope for the Indian who visibly seemed to have given up.

Tai was far superior in her repertoire of shots, footwork and assessment of Sindhu. She often caught Sindhu on the wrong foot and forced errors out of her both at the net and in the middle of the court.

The World No 1, who had thus far never reached the semifinal of the Olympics despite being the longest reigning top position holder in the world, never really gave Sindhu a chance and showed her game up as much more superior.
Sindhu, who will now play for the Bronze after aiming for Gold, was visibly upset as she walked out of the court with her dream of entering the second consecutive Olympic final lying in tatters, much like the smashed shuttle she left on her side of the court as she conceded the final point.

Agreed Tai is No 1 and holds quite an edge over Sindhu in previous encounters, but Sindhu had since worked on her game both at the net and on the baseline. One wonders if she really worked on her mental strength. In this match it looked a bit dismembered. So, it was heartbreaking to see her go down without much of a fight except for some initial burst of brilliance which did not stay for long.

Sindhu is 26 and will be 30 when the next Olympics come calling. This then looked like her best chance to go for Gold, a chance she seemed to have whiled away to unexplained loss of concentration on the most crucial and toughest phase of her Tokyo journey.