Sindhu settles for bronze at Asia Championships

Manila: PV Sindhu ended her Badminton Asia Championships campaign with a bronze medal after going down to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the semi-finals here on Saturday.

Sindhu squandered a one-game advantage to lose 21-13, 19-21, 16-21 to World No.2 and top seed Yamaguchi in the women’s singles last-four match that lasted one hour and six minutes. The bronze she earned on Saturday is Sindhu’s second medal at the continental tournament (the Indian had finished third in the 2014 edition too).

World No.7 Sindhu, seeded fourth in the women’s singles draw, needed just 16 minutes to comfortably pocket the opening game.

In the second game, the Indian was handed a point penalty for taking a lot of time between points, which led to an argument with the referee. The altercation between the two resulted in a momentum shift as Yamaguchi levelled the proceedings to force the semi-final into a decider.

The Japanese found her rhythm and never let Sindhu regroup. In the third and last game, Sindhu trailed from the beginning. In the end, Yamaguchi held five match points and duly converted to seal a spot in the summit contest.

With Sindhu’s exit, India’s challenge at the Championships ended.