World No.3 PV Sindhu of India registered a stunning victory over World No.1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei to help defending champions Chennai Smashers draw level against Ahmedabad Smash Masters in the Premier Badminton League at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
It was a huge win for Chennai as they were 0-1 down in the tie and Sindhu loss would have put them in a very precarious position but Sindhu did not disappoint as she beat Tai Tzu 15-11, 10-15, 15-12 to keep the Smashers alive in this do-or-die contest. This was Tai Tzu’s first loss of the PBL season.
Chennai who came into the tie last on the standings with seven points to their tally need a need as a loss here will end their hopes of qualifying for the knock-out stages.
The Taiwanese shuttler who came at the back of a stunning win over Saina Nehwal started from where she left and she was literally unplayable and deceived the Indian with her clever drops.
She raced to an 8-5 lead and it looked like she would close the game without much of a competition from Sindhu. However, after the break Sindhu, heavily strapped on right thigh was a much different player and switched gears to eventually seize the momentum and go up in the match.
In the second game, Sindhu cashed in on Tai Tzu’s initial mistakes and blitz to an early lead. But Tai Tzu came back strong to lead 8-6 at the break. After the breather, even though Sindhu started the proceeding winning two consecutive points, it was the World No.1 player who maintained her composure to finish the game to take the match into the decider.
In the third game, Sindhu took the charge early and aided by her opponent’s unforced errors went into the breather 8-6. After the change of ends, Tai Tzu known for her ability to bounce back from the dead did that to keep herself in the contest and gave Sindhu no place to breathe. But Sindhu remained cool as an ice and with scores tied 12-12; she won three straight points to send the packed stadium into a euphoric mood.
“It was a great win and I feel I did extremely well to beat Tai Tzu. She played very well and I am really happy to have won the match. The crowd was extremely motivating and their support helped me a lot in getting this win,” Sindhu said after the match.
In the first match of the day, men’s doubles pair of Lee Chun Hei Reginald/Kidambi Nandagopal beat the pair of Chris Adcock/Lee Yang 15-13,15-12 to steer Ahmedabad Smash Masters register first point of the day.
In the opening game, it was a close contest with both the teams looking in great shape. Even though it was a tight contest the Smash Masters went on to win the game to seize the early initiative into the match.
However, the Chennai pair bounced back and looked to be a better pair on the court in the opening game. They went into the interval leading 8-5. They way Adcock/Lee were playing it looked like they would go onto draw level but the Ahmedabad pair had different plans as they changed gears after the break to race their way to victory help Ahmedabad Smash Masters open their account in the lead.