Winning the quarterfinals 21-13, 14-21, 21-12 at the Malaysian Masters Super 500 against Chinese World No.6 Han Yue, ended a long spell of shed and unshed tears for PV Sindhu. A Top 10 snare is the only currency of legit good form on the badminton circuit, and those marquee wins had vamoozed for Sindhu the last few seasons after the heady days of first being a giant-killer, and then a genuine giant.
To understand what a rare Top 6 ranked scalp means to Sindhu, consider the time that’s elapsed since she last won one of those matches. It’s been 2,156 days since she beat Carolina Marin, 1,736 days since she could defeat Tai Tzu Ying and 1,735 days since she scored a win over now Olympic champion, Chen Yu Fei who was twice denied a Worlds final by the Indian in the heydays of 2017-19.
Sindhu last beat Akane Yamaguchi 735 days ago, and other former Top 5 regulars Ratchanok Intanon and He
Bingjiao last in 2018 and 2022 respectively. She has never beaten Korean An Se Young.
𝚂𝙴𝙼𝙸𝙵𝙸𝙽𝙰𝙻 𝙱𝙾𝚄𝙽𝙳 🚀
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— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) May 24, 2024
The Han Yue win two months out from the Paris Games, was hugely necessary to restore her confidence, and remind her she is capable of these hunts, though a couple more of such will reassure her she truly still belongs.
Moreover, it was the manner of the victory that will please Sindhu. This wasn’t a scrap, against China’s current No.2 in rankings, a hugely consistent and steady player who knows how to find a way out. Sindhu crowded her and marauded her gameplans and gave her no time to regroup.
There were more than traces of the old-Sindhu where she steamrolls over big-name rivals in passages of play, and finishes with an assertive stomp. Even if she was taken to a decider by the wildly drifty conditions which favoured her in the first and Han in the second, it was in the decider that Sindhu went on a vintage offensive — and also had the fuel in the tank to fire till the finish.
Pivotal to this kind of game is the ability to achieve high hand speeds in deciders, shots hit at top pace with power to build pressure in a rally.
Accelerating in the third
Accelerating in the third set is tough. Players get tired. She could do that today.
For most part in the opener, Sindhu employed the flick and drops to the midcourt after parking her formidable presence at the net. Once she could control the rallies from the front court, smartly moving the shuttle around, she wasn’t too fussed about the few times that Han sent the shuttle over her head.
Crucially, twice at 12-6 up and at 20-13, Sindhu’s challenge reviews came good on the lines, a confidence booster at all times. Her flank defense across the body when Han went down the line close to the side lane, remains shabby. But such is the efficacy of her confident attacking game that her not being able to labour over picking every shuttle, didn’t matter at all.
For most part in the opener, Sindhu employed the flick and drops to the midcourt after parking her formidable presence at the net. Once she could control the rallies from the front court, smartly moving the shuttle around, she wasn’t too fussed about the few times that Han sent the shuttle over her head. (BWF/Badminton Photo)
The offense made up for the few that slipped past, when she committed herself to the net, and Han hit deep behind.
Dropping the second also was no matter really, even as she trailed 0-5 and 4-16 before clambering up to 14-21.
A 5-point surge from 8-17 to 13-17 sufficiently rattled Han, who was doing all the hard work, but getting no returns as Sindhu needed just two shots — the setup and the kill to bully her in every rally. Playing from the favourable side at the start of the third, really was reminiscent of Sindhu’s best attacking days.
Her reach in foot strides or chasing shuttles on the flanks is well known, but Sindhu truly makes her height count when she simply strikes the shuttle at the highest point, reducing the available reaction time for opponents. On Friday, the 28-year-old pounced proactively on every shuttle sending it back in double quick time, and simply criss-crossed her placements to yo-yo Han. When the Chinese was hurried and disoriented enough in bruising paced rallies, Sindhu would finally go for the power kills to bury the shuttle into the floor.
Han was hustled, hassled and properly harried by the pace. And at 11-19 down, sent a tired lollipop high serve that Sindhu gleefully sent travelling for a perfect half smash. Finally, Han would send a despondent, imbalanced, uncontrolled return wide to give the Indian her first Top 6 victory in months.
She was back to score-settling with biggies finally.
“The third game was crucial for both of us. From the first rally, I made sure I was in the game focused and didn’t give away easy points. I was in control and I was confident of winning. I’m happy with how I played because I lost our last match. It’s a shame as I was leading, but this is like a sweet revenge,” Sindhu told BWF.
The Indian World No.15, knows there are no wins on a platter, and is prepared for the scuffles and hard labour. “I was prepared for three games, I was prepared for long rallies. At this level, you can’t expect a straightforward match. The top 10 players are of the highest standards, you can’t take it easy. It’s good I’ve come to the semis, this gives me a lot of confidence to go much further,” she added.
Just like in February, it has looked clear that Sindhu needs a sizable training block just before she hits the ground running to peak for a solitary event. After the Indonesia Open she is expected to go into a huddle at a training base in Germany. “It’s nice (to be back in a semifinal). I’ve got a good training block as well. Mentally and physically I’m 100 percent. Now it’s time to get that confidence back. I’m getting there but there’s still a lot more inside. I need to get all of that out,” she warned, sounding low-key ominous.
Thai Busanan Ong-bam-rung-phan loves dragging matches out, but Sindhu might just be in a hurry on Saturday to make her first Tour final of the season.
