Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu’s dream of achieving a hat-trick of medals at the Olympic Games ended in disappointment.
Sindhu lost to He Bing Jiao in the pre-quarterfinals 19-21, 14-21 in 56 minutes on Thursday.
“It’s sad. The result, I couldn’t get what I expected,” said Sindhu after her exit from the Games.
The first game went neck-to-neck at 19-19, but Bing Jiao managed to edge Sindhu to win 21-19.
“I should have controlled in terms of a few mistakes on my defense is what I felt,” Sindhu conceded.
“I kept fighting still because you never know anything can happen. Both of us were fighting for each point because until the end you can’t expect. It’s not easy win or easy points, you can’t think that you have finished the game,” she stated.
“It’s sad that I couldn’t convert it to win, especially in the first game because it was 19 all at some point. I think if it would have been the other way, especially when I challenged it. If I would have won the first set, maybe it would have been different. But I think it was… I mean, there were rallies and it was going on well, but only one can win,” Sindhu added.
Before the Paris Olympics, Sindhu underwent intense training in Germany under the mentorship of Prakash Padukone.
Asked about her training, Sindhu said she has no regrets. “Everybody worked hard, so we have done whatever we could. Rest is destiny. I don’t regret it.”
When Bing Jiao attacked Sindhu with smashes and earned points with soft drops, Sindhu’s strategy to attack her did not pay the dividend. As a result, she looked flabbergasted.
“She has that jump smash. Even my smashes, I think, which were mid-court, they were just going out when she was challenging. I should have hit them inside and I should have got those points where I’ve made those unforced errors, said Sindhu.
“She got much more confident in that because when I was hitting, she was defending, but still some points which were really mid-court also, I was hitting just out or just into her hand,” added Sindhu.
In the second game, Sindhu, despite playing big smashes, lost 14-21 as Bing Jiao defended well.
“Her defense was really good today. She was taking everything and I had to be even more patient. Sometimes I was changing and I was getting points. I was dictating and I was getting a few points, but I think it was not enough today. “
Noncommittal on future
Sindhu, 29, however, refused to comment on her participation at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
“It’s still four years away. So for me, right now, I just go back and rest for a bit, maybe just take some break and then come back and let’s see what it is because four years is a very, very long time. So let’s see,” the 29-year-old said.