Indonesia Open 2019 | PV Sindhu suffers yet another final defeat as Akane Yamaguchi triumphs
PV Sindhu’s search for her first title of the season continues as she succumbed to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the final of the BWF Indonesia Open. After a close first game saw Yamaguchi come from behind to win the game, she dominated the proceedings there onward to win in straight games.
With one glittering performance after the other through the course of the tournament, PV Sindhu yet again let the nerves get to her as she lost her first final of the calendar year 16-21, 18-21. The jinx is getting harder and harder to beat with each passing tournament, with Sindhu having lost all of the finals she reached last year in the tour events, bar the season-ending tournament.
Akane Yamaguchi started the match on the front foot and rushed to a three-point lead early on in the first game. However, it did not take Sindhu long to find her footing as she ended up taking five consecutive points to assume the lead. The close tussle between the two continued and with scores tied at 14 each, Sindhu lost momentum and her opponent pulled away to take six consecutive points, ultimately winning the game 21-15.
Sindhu had a 10-4 record against Yamaguchi at the start of the game but the Japanese was seated a spot higher than Sindhu in the BWF World Rankings. Sindhu had put in what was probably her performance of the year to beat Chen Yu Fei in the penultimate round whereas Yamaguchi had breezed past world number one Tai Tzu Ying.
The second game started on a similar note as the first with Yamaguchi in control of affairs early on. However, this time around Sindhu could not up her intensity and match her counterpart’s prowess as she failed to take the lead for even once in the entire game. Every time she looked to be clawing her way back, Yamaguchi responded with a flurry of points as Sindhu finally succumbed to the challenge 21-16.
The outcome was disappointing, to say the least, considering Sindhu had come into the match as the favourite and was expected to win considering the form she had shown so far in the competition. With the World Championships fast approaching, she needs to get at least one title under her belt to boost her confidence and overcome the finals fear that has now been haunting her for long. She’ll next be competing in the Japan Open scheduled to start from 23rd July, with her first match against China’s Han Yue.
