50:50 PV Sindhu has improved a lot since their QF match in WC 2019. Sindhu has improved her defence, front court play and has more variety in shots. If Sindhu plays to potential she can win it.
PV should attack more, with her height she can't retrieve easily, she is a natural attacker, she didn't took much initiative after 11-8 in first set. Its okay, I hope she can still aim for Paris 2024 she should be 28/just turned 29, she can try.
I think the whole Indian media was relying too much on Sindhu, without much knowledge of the badminton circuit. I was frustrating how some said a gold is almost certain as Carolina Marin has withdrawn, dismissing all other medal contenders.
What to expect from this shithole media. Btw you remember which channel it was? Coming to the match, if only Sindhu could have taken last points of the first game and clinch it, that would have given her some confidence. But, seriously respect to Tai. The way she played, it was near perfect. Strategy and Class, she showed that was really hard for Sindhu to counter. Sometimes the opponent is clearly better, today was that case. So this loss shouldn't hurt much. Tai hasn't won a single Major medal (excluding AG gold), I want this to be her Olympics now. This loss is not as painful as going to the decider and then losing it in close games. It's fine, I'll say go for bronze. Next is He Bingjaio against whom she has negative h2h, I hope she's motivated enough to win a bronze medal and not be dejected after this loss.
Feelig sad right now and feeling bad for Sindhu. Sindhu was just not herself today. This was not the Sindhu I am so used to seeing in bwf major events. Where was that agression? Instead, I was seeing signs of nervousness in her face. She was letting TTY play her normal game which she did not do in Rio. I missed that relentless aggression that she shows when she is in form. Now, I am hoping she at least brings the bronze (unlike Novak).
PV should hone her aggressive game, Kim suits her better than park, Parks style if better suited for Japanese or Korean style L
She should definitely hone her aggressive game. I am not sure Park is at fault though. He was indeed asking Sindhu to be more aggressive throughout the match.
I don't remember the news channel but most of the options and articles were of the opinion that sindhu is the clear favourite. Even in the interviews, Sindhu was asked about her how lucky it is that her biggest opponent is out of the picture.
I was worried about this outcome for Sindhu. When Sindhu beat TTY at the WC in 2019, Sindhu had to fight through it, like Nozomi Okuhara fought through it with Sindhu in the 2017 WC. It was a war of attrition for both NO and Sindhu, but NO prevailed in 2017. Fast forward to 2019, it was once again a war of attrition for Sindhu but TTY made enough mistakes, Sindhu prevailed. The problem for Sindhu and actually all the other WS on the circuit is that TTY's racquet skills are beyond a typical world ranked WS player. TTY actually has an effective backhand smash that other world ranked WS players don't have. TTY has deception that goes way beyond any world ranked WS player. If TTY is in the zone, it's really hard to beat her, even for someone like Carolina Marin. If Carolina Marin beats TTY, it's because Carolina Marin had to grind it out and hope TTY makes mistakes. And IMO, Carolina Marin for a WS player already has a lot of variety of shots, but she still isn't as skilled as TTY. Chen Yufei beat TTY at the AE in 2019, but Chen Yufei had to run down every shot to beat TTY (and Chen Yufei's biggest strength is footwork too) and hope TTY had a lapse in focus, which she did in 2019, so Chen Yufei won. Fast forward to 2020, and TTY was more focused and Chen Yufei lost this time. So the moral of the story is, TTY is the most skilled WS player on the circuit. You just have to hope she has a lapse of concentration and focus, she makes mistakes, and then she is beatable. But if she is focused and in the zone that day, good luck, because I don't think Chen Yufei, Sindhu, or Carolina Marin is beating her. When you watch TTY's matches against Chen Yufei, Sindhu, or Carolina Marin, TTY is often in control of the rally because of her exceptional racquet skills, which isn't a good place to be if you're the opponent of TTY. For Sindhu, if she can improve her skills, she can be a more deadly player. For example, if she could acquire TTY's backhand, that would go far. Or if Sindhu can acquire TTY's deception, that would make Sindhu more deadly (Sindhu does have some deception, just not at the level that TTY does). Otherwise, the only way to beat TTY is to grind it out, and hope TTY loses focus and starts making mistakes. I think Sindhu does have a good smash for a WS player, but unfortunately, TTY gave Sindhu few chances to smash today and when Sindhu did smash, TTY returned most of the smashes. Best of luck to Sindhu, I think she is a once in a generation player for India. I believe Sindhu is the first Indian player to medal at the Olympics (and Sindhu can still possibly get a bronze medal in this one), and Sindhu is the first Indian player to win the WC. Those are accomplishments that will go down in history for her.
What are her chances tomorrow against HBJ? I think she would be more comfortable playing HBJ style. Let's hope she performs better tomorrow.
Agree. Its very difficult to beat TTY when she is in form. I've seen video of her playing and winning against a MS player (although with a 10 point head start). It would be sad if she retires without winning the gold medal at Olympics, because if anyone deserves it, it's her. Sindhu is actually the second indian player to win a medal in badminton. Don't forget Saina won bronze in 2012. But she is the first woman to win a silver medal for India in any sport.
It's funny to see the random dudes and cricket journalists/commentators in twitter giving advice on how Sindhu could have played against TTY. A realistic badminton follower knows that it's incredibly difficult to beat TTY when she is on song. Can't take HBJ lightly as well as she improved her fitness a lot. Hope Sindhu wins bronze. Let's go India
Ah, you're right. Saina won a bronze in 2012. I forgot about that. I probably forgot about that because Sindhu eclipsed Saina in 2016 with the silver medal.
sindhu played great, as good as i've ever seen her play... and she looked in great shape! i thought this was going to remain close after game one, a 50:50. then tty turned it up to peak tty. nobody's going to beat that. still, i can't exactly say this was easy for tty.
Fantastic game today. What a performance. Didn't give an inch. I'm so happy and proud of Sindhu. Everyone has a plan 'till they meet Lee/Wang.