Madrid, April 2 (IANS) Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu fell short of the Madrid Spain Masters badminton 2023 women’s singles title following an 8-21, 8-21 loss to Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the final, here on Sunday.
For Sindhu, the world No. 11 in the badminton rankings and second seed at the tournament, it was her first final appearance of the year.
Heading into the BWF Super 300 tournament in Madrid, the 27-year old Indian had failed to progress beyond the second stage in any of the BWF World Tour 2023 tournaments she participated in.
Up against world No. 12 Tunjung, who stunned top seed and former Olympic champion Carolina Marin in the semi-finals, Sindhu made a slow start and committed a couple of unforced errors, allowing her opponent the upper hand in the early exchanges.
The 23-year-old Indonesian shuttler, chasing her maiden BWF World Tour title, took full advantage of Sindhu’s lapses and showcased some fantastic badminton of her own to take the opening game with ease.
Once the two players returned to the court for the second game, Tunjung, who has been in a rich vein of form lately, continued to dictate the tempo of the match. She outclassed the Indian badminton player with her fantastic shot selection and clever shuttle placement.
Despite her best efforts, Sindhu, a double Olympic medallist, could do little to stop Gregoria Mariska Tunjung’s rampage as the Indonesian sealed the final in just 28 minutes to win her maiden World Tour tournament.
It was Tunjung’s first win over Sindhu in eight head-to-head meetings.
–IANS
ak/
