The badminton star will now face China's He Bing Jiao for the bronze medal.
Indian badminton star PV Sindhu narrowly lost in the semifinals of the badminton event at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, July 31, after she was defeated 21-18, 21-12 by World Number 1 Tai Tzu-Ying of Chinese Taipei. Sindhu, who is the reigning world champion, will now take on China's He Bing Jiao for the bronze medal. This means that India's wait for a first-ever gold medal in badminton at the Olympics continues. Sindhu led 11-8 halfway through the first game, when Tai's forehand crosscourt lift drifted wide. But the number one ranked player battled back to 11-11 with a flurry of delicate drop shots. It was the drop shot that kept Tai's hopes alive at 16-14, before she edged ahead in the tight first set to win it 21-18. Tai Tzu continued to hold the edge over the second game and led 11-7 in the second game. Sindhu mounted a comeback but it was not enough as Tai Tzu prevailed in straight sets. The 26-year-old Indian, who won a silver in the 2016 Rio Olympics, now finds herself in a final match in which she can improve upon her performance five years ago. The world No 1 Tai Tzu, whom coach Park Tae-sang considers as Sindhu's biggest rival, had an overwhelming 13-7 advantage against the Indian going into Saturday's semifinal contest. Sindhu, who has lost to Tai Tzu in the last three occasions, however, had managed to outplay the Taiwanese shuttler in important events such as the 2016 Rio Games, 2019 World Championships and 2018 World Tour Finals. But on Saturday, Tai Tzu prevailed in a tense contest, finally beating Sindhu in the Olympic stage. China's Chen Yu Fei and He Bing Jiao were the other two semifinalists and Tai Tzu will take on Chen Yu Fei in the final for the gold medal. Sindhu's loss comes on a mixed day for Indian women at the Olympics. The contingent was boosted by the hockey team's 4-3 win over South Africa but boxer Pooja Rani bowed out of the Olympics at the quarter final stage. India's only medalist at the Tokyo Olympics so far is weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, while boxer Lovlina Borgohain is assured of a medal in the women's welterweight boxing event.
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