Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu ended her Badminton Asia Championships campaign with a bronze medal after going down fighting to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in three games here on Saturday.
The 26-year-old started the match on a positive note but couldn’t keep the winning momentum going, losing 21-13 19-21 16-21 to the top seed and world No. 2 Yamaguchi in the clash, which lasted one hour and six minutes.
This is Sindhu’s second medal in the tournament — she had claimed a bronze in the 2014 Gimcheon edition.
The Hyderabad shuttler, who won two Super 300 titles at Syed Modi International and Swiss Open, took the first game easily in 16 minutes.
In the second game, the fourth-seeded Sindhu was handed a point penalty for taking too much time between points, leading to an argument with the referee.
The argument between the two led to a momentum shift as Yamaguchi levelled the proceedings to force a decider. The Japnese shuttler found her rhythm and never let Sindhu regroup.
In the final game, Sindhu trailed from the beginning. In the end, Yamaguchi had five match points, which she duly converted.
The head-to-head between Sindhu and Yamaguchi is now 13-9 in the Indian’s favour.
With Sindhu’s defeat, India’s challenge at the individual continental championship has ended.