World Badminton Championship: PV Sindhu fails to overcome Carolina Marin; settles for bronze

Indian shuttler fails to cross semis hurdle, loses in straight games to Carolina Marin

Copenhagen: PV Sindhu suffered a heartbreak at the World Badminton Championship on Saturday as the Indian had to settle for a second consecutive bronze medal after succumbing to Carolina Marin of Spain in straight games in the semifinals.


PV Sindhu makes a return against Carolina Marin in the women’s singles semi-final at the World Championships on Saturday. Pic/AFP 

Sindhu, seeded 11th, failed in her bid to become the first Indian woman to reach the finals of the premier competition as her battle against the ninth seed ended in a 17-21, 15-21 loss at the Ballerup Super Arena here.

After stunning performances in the last two matches, Sindhu had conjured up hopes of bettering the colour of her medal but she could not produce the same resilience and grit which saw her edge out sixth seeded Korean Yeon Ju Bae and All England champion Shixian Wang.

Second WC
Playing only her second World Championship, Sindhu, who won a bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow early this month, could not find a way out of the fast-paced rallies played by the left-handed Marin.

The 19-year-old thus became the first badminton player to win two bronze medals at the World Championship. Badminton Legend Prakash Padukone had won the men's singles bronze in 1983, while Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won bronze in the women's doubles in 2011.

Meanwhile, Malaysian world number one Lee Chong Wei secured a third straight men's singles finals appearance while women's top seed Li Xuerui of China also advanced to the title match.

Top-ranked Lee, twice a runner-up at the tournament, brushed aside young Danish hopeful Viktor Axelsen 21-9, 21-7 in front of a partisan Copenhagen crowd to move within touching distance of a first major title.

Despite his advancing years Lee, who will turn 32 in October, demonstrated his enduring class with a sublime blend of blistering overheads and resolute defence to get the better of Axelsen.

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