In a one-sided final match, the top seed PV Sindhu barely broke a sweat to defeat Malvika Bansod 21-13, 21-16.
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PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, won her second women’s singles gold at the Syed Modi International badminton event on Sunday, defeating youthful compatriot Malvika Bansod in straight games. In a lopsided title match, top seed Sindhu barely broke a sweat to defeat Bansod 21-13, 21-16 in a weakened field owing to many COVID-19 incidents. The final was only 35 minutes long. Sindhu had already won the BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament in 2017, and this was her second Syed Modi trophy.
Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto, the seventh seeded Indians, won the mixed doubles title with a straight game victory over compatriots T Hema Nagendra Babu and Srivedya Gurazada. In a summit match that lasted 29 minutes, Bhatnagar and Crasto defeated the unseeded Indian pair 21-16, 21-12. After one of the finalists tested positive for COVID-19, the men’s singles final between Arnaud Merkle and Lucas Claerbout was deemed a ‘No Match.’
The women’s singles match between world number seven Sindhu and youthful Bansod, rated 84th in the world, was predicted to be one-sided, and it turned out to be precisely that. Sindhu’s enormous experience and skills were put to good use as Bansod struggled to adjust to her opponent’s style from the start. The Olympic silver medalist from Tokyo took off right away and surged to a 7-0 lead in no time. The ace shuttler took advantage of her height and reach to extend her lead to 11-1 at halftime.
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Bansod tried to improve her game after the break, scoring a few points to reduce the gap, but she was no match for Sindhu, who won the first game with flawless ease. The second game, on the other hand, produced a more competitive match, with Bansod trying her hardest to improve her game, which she did, but it was not enough to challenge Sindhu’s class. Sindhu exploited her height to blend smashes with exquisite drop shots, which Bansod couldn’t match as Sindhu raced to an 11-4 lead at the halfway point.
Sindhu kept playing in the same manner, despite Bansod’s best efforts to make a comeback, scoring four points in a row to cut the gap to 17-12. Bansod scored four more points, but she lacked the poise and class that Sindhu possessed as she easily won the match.
