PV Sindhu Reflects on Missed Opportunity in Olympic Pre-Quarterfinals

Paris - India's star shuttler PV Sindhu believes that if she had won the first set, the result of the pre-quarterfinals of the women's singles event at the Paris Olympics could have been different.

Sindhu suffered a defeat in the Round of 16 against sixth-seeded Chinese shuttler He Bing Jiao. Her campaign in the women's singles event ended with a straight-set defeat of 21-19, 21-14. The first set was a very close contest, even though Jiao took a good lead in the early stages of the set, but Sindhu made a comeback to level the score at 19-19.

The decisive moment of the opening set came when Sindhu challenged the decision for the 20th point. The shuttlecock came on the line, giving the Chinese shuttler a chance to move ahead in the game. Jiao won the first set and eventually the game. After the match, Sindhu felt that the result could have been different if she had won the first set.

Sindhu said after the match, "Yes, I think it's sad that I couldn't get the result I wanted. In the Olympics, everyone wants to win, but unfortunately, it didn't happen, or it didn't go right for me. The first game could have been a little different, especially, I think at 19-19, it could have been anyone's game. I challenged it. It would have been nice if it was in my favour, but it was on the line, and it was 20-19 in her favour. Maybe if I had won the first set, it would have been different. My confidence would have been much higher."

In the second set, Jiao's relentless style of play did not give Sindhu any chance to make a comeback, and the game slowly slipped out of Sindhu's hands. Jiao performed impressively by securing the second set with a 21-14 win.

"I think in the second game, it was a good start, and then she took the lead. Overall, I felt it was a sad day, but I have to keep my head high," Sindhu said.