On 1st August 2021, PV Sindhu defeated He Bing Jao of China 21-13, 21-15 in straight games to clinch her second Olympic medal and complete a dream.
However, three years later on the same date against the same opponent, the dream to become the first-ever Indian woman to win three Olympic medals was cut short.
PV Sindhu exited the 2024 Paris Olympics after losing to He Bing Jao in the round of 16 of the women’s singles. Sindhu lost 19-21, 14-21 in straight games to the higher-ranked opponent from China.
๐ญ ๐๐๐ด๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ญ: PV Sindhu beat He Bing Jiao to clinch BRONZE ๐ฅ ๐ธ
๐ญ ๐๐๐ด๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฐ: He Bing Jiao returns the favour, breaking Indian hearts ๐๐ฅฒ
Sindhu’s 100% medal record in the #Olympics is over.
Score – ๐จ๐ณ 2๏ธโฃ1๏ธโฃ-1๏ธโฃ9๏ธโฃ, 2๏ธโฃ1๏ธโฃ-1๏ธโฃ4๏ธโฃ ๐ฎ๐ณ#Badminton #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/5iM7sPfHhO
โ The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) August 1, 2024
In the first game, PV Sindhu was at par with He Bing Jao and troubled her with precise drops around the net.
While He Bing Jao was the one attacking with smashes, Sindhu was using her drops and placement of shots near the net to counter her. Sindhu was trailing earlier in the game but came back to make it 19-19.
However, Jao took the last points and won the first game 21-19 putting pressure on Sindhu to make a comeback.
After the intense first game, Sindhu looked tired and Jao took advantage of the same taking an early lead of 7-2. Sindhu reduced the lead to 4-8 but then Jao won three consecutive points to make it 11-5 at the mid-game.
There was no coming back for Sindhu after this and eventually, Jao won the second game 21-14.
With Sindhu’s exit, India’s medal in badminton lies solely on Lakshya Sen who will face Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei tomorrow in the quarterfinals.