Defending champion PV Sindhu admitted that she will face tough competition when she takes on world No 1 Tai Tzu Ying in the quarterfinals of the BWF World Championships 2021 in Huelva, Spain on Friday. Sindhu defeated ninth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong in straight games on Thursday to enter the quarter-finals.
Sindhu ended a two-match losing streak at Chochuwong but faced a tough test against Tai on Friday. Notably, Sindhu has a poor one-off record against Tai on tour, having lost 14 of their 19 meetings so far. Sindhu has lost 4 times to top-ranked women’s singles shutters on the surge with her last win in the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Championships, which she won.
Sindhu holds her own record of reaching at least the final quarter-finals of every edition of the World Championships she has been a part of. The World No. 7 is hoping to win a record-breaking 6th medal at the World Meet.
Tai qualified for the quarterfinals after facing a tough challenge from Scotland’s Christie Gilmour as she needed 3 games to beat her opponent 21-10, 19-21, 21-11 on Thursday.
Tai’s deceit has been difficult to overcome for most shutters on the tour and Sindhu is no exception. However, the Indians must be feeling confident after their scintillating performance against Chochuwong. Sindhu was quick and moving brilliantly on the court and blew all guns blazing against the Thai shuttler.
“Okay, tomorrow is against Tai. We’re playing again after the Olympics now. I just want to give my best no matter what. It’s not going to be an easy match, I’m going to have a long rally and a big one.” Need to be match ready. So from my side I will give my 100 per cent.
Defending champion Pusarla V. Sindhu met Thai star Pornpawee Chochuwong in the first match of the fifth day.#BWFWorldChampionships #huelva2021 pic.twitter.com/ELNolhw6q6
— bwf (@bwfmedia) December 16, 2021
Honestly don’t know: Sindhu on big game
Sindhu is looking to end her title drought, which has stretched for more than two years since her last crown came at the World Meet in 2019. However, Sindhu, as expected, won her second Olympic medal in Tokyo by finishing on top of the major tournaments. Earlier this year, BWF had reached the finals of the World Tour Finals.
Highlighting her big-match potential, Sindhu said: “Well, people keep telling me that. I take it as a positive thing and hope it works every time. No, just kidding.” I honestly don’t know… I don’t know how I play in times like these. But it’s good to be on the winning side in big events.”