The last time PV Sindhu played at Basel’s St. Jakobshalle arena in Switzerland, she went on to create history by becoming the first Indian badminton player to win the World Championship title.
It was more coincidence as the 25-year-old reached her first final since then—after a gap of 19 months and 13 tournaments—at the same venue on Saturday.
Playing against the 2019 European Games gold medallist Mia Blichfeldt, the second seed came out on top, winning the semi-final at the Swiss Open 22-20, 21-10. World No.7 Sindhu took 43 minutes to get the job done, extending her career advantage to 4-1 against the Danish world No.12.
Far from her peak, it was due to the several unforced errors from the Dane’s racquet that Sindhu could win points regularly. More than twice, the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist took a sizeable lead but allowed it to be easily wiped out by Blichfeldt.
Despite winning 43 of the 73 points, it took Sindhu four game points to close out the opening game. The reigning world champion looked more herself in the second game, not letting her Danish opponent win more than one point at a stretch in the entire game.
“Yes, the Dane’s several errors helped Sindhu gain easy points but she won it comfortably in the end,” said national selector and former chief national coach, U Vimal Kumar. “Her struggles are not much of an issue. She needs to play more and more of these matches and she will be a lot better if she keeps winning. All top players need these wins to boost their confidence, especially if they have not played for a while. Even (Japan’s world No.1) Kento Momota will struggle when he returns (to competition). I am sure this tournament will be good for her going into the All England Open (March 17-21).”
{{/usCountry}}“Yes, the Dane’s several errors helped Sindhu gain easy points but she won it comfortably in the end,” said national selector and former chief national coach, U Vimal Kumar. “Her struggles are not much of an issue. She needs to play more and more of these matches and she will be a lot better if she keeps winning. All top players need these wins to boost their confidence, especially if they have not played for a while. Even (Japan’s world No.1) Kento Momota will struggle when he returns (to competition). I am sure this tournament will be good for her going into the All England Open (March 17-21).”
{{/usCountry}}Sindhu will face reigning Olympic and three-time world champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the final. The Indian has a 5-8 win-loss record against her. “Carolina certainly is the favourite tomorrow,” said Kumar, citing the Spaniard’s victories at both the calendar restarting Thailand Opens in January. “But I still think it is 50-50 as Sindhu can definitely raise her level and play better against an opponent like Carolina.”
Srikanth exits
It was the end of the road for fourth seed Kidambi Srikanth, who was looking to reach his first final since the 2019 India Open. And it was the same opponent who defeated him in that summit clash two years ago, Danish top seed Viktor Axelsen. He defeated India’s former world No.1 21-13, 21-19 in 41 minutes.
By the time Srikanth found his rhythm, he was a game and 3-12 down. The world No.13 fought back to level the scores at 17-all, but the class of Axelsen, who has reached his sixth consecutive final, showed as he closed out the win on his first match point.
“Srikanth should have upped the pace from the start when he took it easy. Faster pace could have put pressure on Axelsen, who makes mistakes if put under pressure,” said Kumar, referring to the final of the BWF World Tour Finals in January which the world No.2 lost to compatriot Anders Antonsen. “Antonsen put pressure and Axelsen caved in. If you have to beat Axelsen, you have to hassle him from the start. Still this performance will give Srikanth a lot of confidence ahead of the All England where he can play a lot better.”
Indian men's doubles second seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also lost in the semi-finals, 10-21, 17-21 in 44 minutes to Danish sixth seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.