Tokyo Olympics 2021 Badminton: Chen Yu Fei wins gold, Tai Tzu gets silver, Sindhu captures bronze

PV Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win two Olympic medals as the Indian defeated China's He Bing Jiao in the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics. Chen Yu Fei won the gold, while Tai Tzu-Ying settled for the silver.

PV Sindhu will take on He Bing-Jiao in the Bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday.

Hello and welcome to Sportstar's Live coverage of the Tokyo Olympics Badminton women's singles Bronze medal match between PV Sindhu and HE Bingjiao.

 

• Chen Yu Fei wins the Gold medal as she beats Tai Tzu-Ying 21-18 19-21 21-18
• Game 2 (18-14) Chen is just three points away from clinching the gold medal but despite having a four-point lead, Tai Tzu isn't going to give up that easily.
• Game 2 (16-14) From 3-10 down in the deciding game, Tai Tzu is back in the game giving herself a great chance to win the gold medal. This is fantastic determination from the stuttler, who stunned PV Sindhu in straight games.
• Game 2 (11-6) Terrific from Chen as she has a five-point advantage during the mid-game break and the deficit might be a bit too much for Tai Tzu but you can't rule her out. The next three points will be crucial for both the shuttlers.
• Game 2 (21-19) Tai Tzu fightsback to win the second game and as expected what a fightback from the champion. Fantastic play using the depth of the court, brought her best net game into play to take the game to the decider. 1-1 at the moment and this has been outstanding from Tai Tzu.
• Game 2 (11-9) Chen not letting the advantage go as she is maintaining the lead bit Tai Tzu will make a comeback and try and win the Game to force a decider.

PV Sindhu wins bronze in Tokyo, second successive Olympic badminton medal

• Game 1 (21-18) Well, well, Chen turns the game as after trailing for the early parts of  the game the Chinese storm back to win the first game and take a 1-0 lead.
• Game 1 (13-11): It's a tight contest with Tai taking a two-point lead but Chen is not too far behind and this is going to be some contest.
• Right then the attention now shifts to Tai Tzu-Ying as she takes on Chen Yu Fei in Gold medal match
• That's it! She has done it! Sindhu wins Bronze and etches her name in the history of Indian sport. Becomes first Indian woman to win two Olympic medals! What a Champion.
• Sindhu beats BingJiao 21-13, 21-15 to win the Bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics
• Game 2 (15-11) After the interval, BingJiao won three straight points to level the game but Sindhu with a wonderful placement secured the lead once again with a four-point advantage.
• Game 2 (11-8) At the mid-game interval, Sindhu, who conceded a couple of points didn't allow her opponent to run away with the momentum and maintained the lead but most importantly was very accurate with her judgement on the landing of the shuttle near the line.
• Game 2 (5-2) Sindhu didn't let the advantage slip away as she continued to dominate and held on to the lead with her opponent trying to crawl back with long smashes and involving the Indian in the net play.
• Game 1 (21-13) With three points away from the opening game, a smash from Bing-Jiao couldn't make any difference as Sindhu gained a massive lead and eight game points at 20-12 and closed the game in just 24 minutes.
• Game 1 (16-11) Sindhu kept dictating the pace as she increased the lead and at 16-11, the Indian was favourite to win the Game and take a 1-0 lead in the Bronze medal match.
• Game 1 (11-8) Sindhu stormed back to take the lead at 8-6 and used the back end of her court to counter the drift but the Chinese was quick to take the pace off to score a point. A fast and aggressive rally saw both players going for the winner but the defensive shot allowed Sindhu to dominate and take a two-point lead. And then a straight smash down the line took Sindhu to 11-8 in the mid-game interval.
• Game 1 (6-5) Bing-Jiao made Sindhu run through through the cout and with some subtle pushes towards the Indian's left not only levelled the game but also took the lead.
• Game 1 (5-2 ) Early challenge from He Bing-Jiao but she loses as the shuttle lands in and Sindhu has taken an early lead in the bronze medal match. After a long rally, Bing-Jiao with a low net shot drew level to close-in the gap.
• Right then both shuttlers are on the court and the current World Champion will be keen to script her name in history
• He Bing-Jiao will start the proceedings and has chosen the far end of the court

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Sindhu will have a shot at a second successive Olympic medal when she takes on China’s He Bingjao for the bronze medal match on Sunday.

 

Tai Tzu-ying, who defeated Sindhu, will face another Chinese Chen Yufei in the final.

“It’s a bit sad that I am not on the winning side, but I have one more match to go so I need to keep my tempo going, recover soon and come back tomorrow,” said Sindhu, while adding that her opponent did particularly well to not commit unforced errors.

How can PV Sindhu beat He Bingjiao in bronze medal match at Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Here's what Sindhu needs to do to get the better of Bingjiao.

First of all, Sindhu needs to keep aside the historical facts like her 6-9 loss-win record (winning 15 games and losing 20). She can draw confidence from the fact that last time they played, in the 2019 BWF World Tour Finals, Sindhu won 21-19, 21-19.

1. Knowing that her rival is a rally player, much like Nozomi Okuhara, Sindhu could avoid playing long rallies. Frequent change of direction of returns is more important than varying the length of the returns.

2. Finishing strokes must be executed at the earliest instead of waiting to set up a point.

3. Be ready to play with powerful, downward strokes and wait for the defensive lift from her rival to finish the point. She needs to play more down-the-line smashes than the predictable cross-court tosses.

PV Sindhu after semifinal defeat: I should have taken the first game

4. Unlike Tai Tzu Ying, He Bingjiao does not have great deception. Therefore, Sindhu can afford to play the shuttle closer to the backline and then change the direction with flicks on either flank.

5. Much will depend on how Sindhu controls the net.

6. The placements on the backcourt will have to be a lot more accurate than they were against Tai.

7. Knowing how well-trained and fit her opponent is, Sindhu would do well to go flat out in the first two games to finish the match. Since Sindhu has not played a single match spanning three games, He Bingjiao could test her stamina never before in the competition.