Sun too hot for Sindhu as Marin loses again

Dubai - Three players to fight for two slots from Group B

It is still all to play for in Group B of the women's singles after Olympic champion Spain's Carolina Marin and India's PV Sindhu, the Olympics silver medallists, lost their fixtures on the second day of the Dubai BWF World Superseries Finals at the Hamdan Sports Complex on Thursday.
In what was the final match of the night, Marin went down to Akane Yamaguchi in a game that went to the wire, with the Japanese winning it 18-21, 21-17, 21-14 in 85 minutes.
Just a little earlier, PV Sindhu lost to Sun Yu 21-15, 21-17 in 49 minutes. The results leave it all open heading into the final group matches on Friday.
Having been on the scene for quite a bit now, Sun Yu was all over the court with her fast play and covering whatever Sindhu threw at her.
Sun Yu was solid and did not give even a bit of a gap and Sindhu had to work double hard for her points. Also, Sindhu was unable to get to a few returns even as Sun Yu cleverly found those gaps.
The Chinese had run up a 3-0 lead in the first game and then Sindhu found herself tracking her opponent thereafter.
Sindhu kept picking a few points in between but Sun Yu reached the threshold of drawing first blood and was 20-9.
Sindhu did stage a fightback at the end by nicking six points on the trot but one point was all Sun Yu needed and she got that to duly close out the first game.
The second game was a tight affair with them going toe to toe before Sindhu nudged ahead to 12-8. But then, Sindhu couldn't get a stranglehold of it and Sun Yu went on to level things up at 15-15 before wrapping it up.
Sindhu admitted that too many errors cost her the match.
"I was leading and then I gave continuous points, those points which I had to get, I made mistakes and my smashes were going into her hands. But she played a good game. It is just that from my side there were many errors. Also, in the first game, she took a huge lead," Sindhu said after the game.
"My lifts were going out, the points which I was going to get, was going out and also the tap, I was getting under control but then I was hitting out or into the net. So, then, I was a bit nervous. I could have taken the second game but she came back and she took the lead from there," she added.
Sindhu now faces a stiff battle to qualify and the Indian said she would go back to the drawing board and prepare for Friday's game.
"I have to just give my best and play my game. I have to go back and prepare well for tomorrow (Friday) because it is a crucial match," said Sindhu.
Meanwhile, in Group A, Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying and Korea's Sung Ji Hyun are through to the semifinals after they notched their second wins.
Ying beat Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon 21-12, 21-14 in 32 minutes, while Hyun got the better of He Bingjiao 21-18, 21-15 in 35 minutes.
james@khaleejtimes.com