PV Sindhu went down in straight games in the Tokyo Olympics badminton singles semi-final against Tai Tzu Ying on Saturday, ending her bid to become only India’s second ever individual gold medallist.
Taiwan’s Tai made short work of world champion Sindhu, beating her 21-18, 21-12 to set up a final showdown with China’s Chen Yufei.
Sindhu was aiming to go one better than the silver medal she won at Rio 2016, but she still has a chance to claim bronze against China’s He Bingjiao on Sunday.
“It’s sad that I couldn’t go to the final,” said Sindhu.
“I’m sure a lot of people from India supported me and showed me their love. It just wasn’t my day, but I’m going to try again tomorrow.”
Tai’s win means Taiwan is guaranteed another Olympic badminton medal, after Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin reached the final of the men’s doubles.
“I think I did pretty well today,” said Tai. “I didn’t make many mistakes, so I didn’t feel so much pressure.”
Sindhu will now look to become just the second Indian athlete in history to win multiple Olympic medals by winning the bronze medal playoff against He Bingjiao.