Riovenge: Sindhu beats her Rio conqueror Marin

New delhi : PV Sindhu showed nerves of steel against the reigning Olympics champion and top seed, Carolina Marin, to clinch her maiden India Open World Super Series title.Sindhu, world No. 5, took 47 minutes to edge past two-time world champion Marin in straight games 21-19 21-16 at the packed badminton arena in the Siri Fort complex. This was Sindhu’s second Super Series title of her career after winning the China Open crown in November 2016.
Sindhu’s head-to-head record against the world No. 3 Marin now stands at 4-5. This was Sindhu’s second meeting with Marin at the international level since their Rio Olympics final, which the Spaniard had won. At the group stage of the BWF Super Series Finals in Dubai in December last year, Sindhu had defeated Marin in straight games. In today’s epic showdown, it was Sindhu who took an early (6-1) lead in the first game to enjoy a five-point cushion. Marin tried to make a comeback with the help of a couple of half-smashes at Sindhu’s backhand corner and even narrowed down the lead to 7-8. But Sindhu’s powerful crosscourt winners helped her extend the lead to 11-9 at the mid-game break.After the change of ends, Marin started to engage Sindhu at the net with her perfectly-timed flicks, which allowed the Spaniard to draw parity at 16-all. Marin did not allow Sindhu to engage her in long rallies and looked for more net play. This allowed Marin to even take a one-point lead at 18-17 and then 19-18, but Sindhu was in no mood to offer her opponent any opening. Sindhu reached the game point when Marin’s backhand flick landed outside the sideline. The third-seeded Indian pocketed the first game when Marin’s return went wide.