BWF World Championships final: P. V. Sindhu clinches world title, makes history
Sindhu defeated Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in 36 minutes to win her first Championship title.
Published : Aug 25, 2019 16:15 IST
| Silver at the Championships in 2017, and silver again in 2018. Will P. V. Sindhu finally clinch the gold this time? Welcome to Sportstar 's live coverage of the women's singles final of the BWF World Championships 2019, played at Basel, Switzerland. |
That's it from us. Until the next sparking badminton occasion, it's goodbye.
Sindhu wears the gold medal with a satisfied smile. It's been a complete performance from her.
It's a historic gold for India. She becomes the first Indian ever to win a world badminton title. In the past two years, she finished runner-up, but today, she was all over her opponent.
She came with a plan to attack on both flanks, and didn't allow Okuhara to play her signature toss-and-drop game. She also didn't allow the Japanese to unleash her flicks from the forecourt. Sindhu repeatedly kept her line of attack on Okuhara's backhand, and reaped her rewards. Fittingly, even on match point, Sindhu's ploy worked, with Okuhara failing to return from the backhand flank.
"Important win." "Big thanks to all of you all," Sindhu says, referring to the crowd. "Very proud, I won it for my country."
"I dedicate my win to my mom today, it's her birthday."
18.08: A forehand smash into Okuhara's backhand, and she is unable to return. Sindhu clinches the Championship! The scoreline - 21-7, 21-7. Time taken: 36 minutes. This should go down as one of the most one-sided final in World Championship history.
18.08: Championship point! Backhand long by Okuhara.
18.08: A toss into the sidelines from Sindhu. It's 19-7.
18.06: An excellent smash to Okuhara's backhand side by Sindhu. It's 19-6.
18.06: A forehand push from Sindhu, into the backhand corner of Okuhara, after a long rally. It's 18-6.
18.05: Forehand long by Sindhu. It's 17-6.
18.05: A forehand return by Okuhara goes long. It's 17-5 to Sindhu.
18.04: Sindhu challenges, after her forehand goes past Okuhara's backhand and is called long. It's 16-5, as the challenge is unsuccessful.
18.03: Backhand flick on the forecourt, close to the net, by Sindhu. It was a tap. It's 16-4.
18.03: Forehand down the line smash, into Okuhara's backhand again. It's 15-4.
18.02: Forehand crosscourt drop into the sidelines by Okuhara. 14-4.
18.01: Forehand down the line smash, and Okuhara is unable to return. The smash was 358 km/hr.
18.00: A forehand crosscourt smash by Sindhu, into an empty court. 12-4.
17.59: A forehand toss by Okuhara goes out. Sindhu leads 11-4 at the mid-game interval.
17.58: Backhand error by Okuhara. 10-4.
17.58: Forehand into the net by Sindhu. Fourth point for Okuhara.
17.58: Backhand crosscourt into the net by Sindhu. It's the third point for Okuhara. 3-9.
17.57: Another backhand error from Okuhara, induced by a strong smash by Sindhu.
17.57: A smash to the middle of the court by Sindhu. She is all over her opponent in this contest so far. It's 8-2 to Sindhu.
17.56: A forehand into the net by Okuhara. It's 7-2 to Sindhu.
17.56: Forehand toss long. Okuhara challenges. To no avail. It's 6-2 to Sindhu.
17.55: Backhand return into the net from Okuhara. 5-2 to Sindhu.
17.55: Service return, a nice forehand flick return finds Okuhara short. 4-2 to Sindhu.
17.54: A forehand push by Sindhu goes long. It's 2-3.
17.53: A rally after a long time. Sindhu comes out stronger, with a forehand crosscourt. It's a 28-stroke rally.
17.52: A forehand smash gets Okuhara on the scoreboard in the second game. It's 2-1.
17.51: Another backhand error from Okuhara. It's 2-0.
17:51: The second game begins. Backhand into the net by Okuhara. Sindhu leads 1-0.
17.48: On the body, and Okuhara fails to return. Sindhu wins her first game, in merely 16 minutes. Like in the semifinals on Saturday, Sindhu clinches the opening game 21-7 .
17.48: A failed dribble, or rather, a tap, by Sindhu, and Okuhara has her seventh point. A long return by Okuhara gives Sindhu 13 game points.
17.47: Backhand error from Sindhu, into the net. It's 19-6.
17.46: 'Ganpati bappa moriya' the crowd sings. Easy forehand kill by Sindhu, makes it 19-5.
17.46: Forehand error from Sindhu, and another point to Okuhara. It's 18-5.
17:45: Two easy points for Sindhu, as errors from Okuhara continue. It's 18-4.
17:44: Forehand crosscourt into the sidelines, and it's 16-4.
17.43: Sindhu hits long, her backhand flick goes long. And Okuhara has another point. It's 16-3.
17.43: A forehand toss by Okuhara sent out of play, into the sidelines. It's 16-2.
17.42: A forehand kill at the net, and it's 15-2 to Sindhu.
17.42: It's 14-2 now.
17.41: Sindhu is on her attacking mode now. She is attacking on both flanks, and rattling her opponent. Okuhara's flick into the sidelines. It's 13-2.
17.40: Two superb smashes from Sindhu, after a rally of tosses. It's 12-2.
17.38: A mid-game break now, after yet another point to Sindhu. An irretrievable forehand crosscourt by Sindhu. It's 11-2.
17.38: A forehand spike from Sindhu to the forecourt, it's 10-2. A loud cry from the crowd.
17.38: A forehand into the tramlines by Okuhara, and Sindhu has opened up a 9-1 lead.
17.36: A nice dribble by Okuhara, she wins her second point of the contest.
17.36: A forehand drop to the sideline by Okuhara, and then a forehand into the net. It's 8-1 now, to Sindhu.
17.35: A forehand down the line from Sindhu, and it's 6-1. She opened up the court beautifully.
17.35: Sindhu's up 5-1 here. Backhand error once again by Okuhara.
17.33: Backhand into the net by Okuhara, it's 3-1. And then a forehand drop into the net by Okuhara. It's 4-1.
17.32: The first point goes to Okuhara. Sindhu tries to dribble but fails. 22 strokes in the first point of the contest.
A big cheer by the Indians in the crowd as Sindhu walks in. Sindhu will serve first.
Two years ago, the two were part of an extraordinary contest. Sindhu had lost that contest 21-19, 20-22, 22-20 in Glasgow. Okuhara had this to tell BWF about her upcoming contest: “This time again [Sindhu]’s in the final, it’s amazing. But I will try hard and I’m looking forward to the final.”
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Japan's Nozomi Okuhara, the World No. 4 but seeded third at the World Championships, had thwarted Sindhu in the 2017 final. In 15 career meetings between the two players, Sindhu has won eight matches.
Here's P. V. Sindhu's journey to the final: she received a bye in the first round; in the second round, she defeated Yu Po Pai of Chinese Taipei 21-14, 21-15; in the next round, Beiwen Zhang of the U.S. 21-14, 21-6; in the quarterfinals, Tai Tzu Ying, the second seed from Chinese Taipei, 12-21, 23-21, 21-19; and in the semifinals, China's Chen Yu Fei 21-7, 21-14.
Here's Okuhara's journey to the final: she received a bye in the first round; in the second round, she defeated Evgeny Kosetskaya of Russia 21-12, 21-14; in the third, Sun Ji Hyun of South Korea, the 10th seed, 21-18, 21-13; in the quarterfinal, He Bing Jao of China 21-7, 21-18; and in the semifinal, Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand 17-21, 21-18, 21-15.