MANILA (Philippines): Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu was left in tears after an “unfair” call by the umpires midway through her semifinal match against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi derailed her dream of winning a gold at the Badminton Asia Championships.
Leading 14-11 in the second game after having won the first, Sindhu was handed a point penalty for taking too much time to serve between points.
The 26-year-old from Hyderabad lost her momentum after that incident, losing 21-13, 19-21, 16-21 to eventually sign off with a bronze medal, her second in the continental individual championship.
“The umpire told me you’re taking a lot of time but the opponent wasn’t ready at that point. But the umpire suddenly gave her the point and it was really unfair. I think that was one of the reasons why I lost,” said Sindhu after the match on Saturday.
“I mean that is my feeling because at that moment it was 14-11 and could have become 15-11 but instead, it became 14-12 and she took continuous points. And I think it was very unfair. Maybe I would have won the match and played in the final.”
—PTI
‘Really unfair, could have played the final’: PV Sindhu on controversial point penalty at Asian Championships added by Press Trust of India on
View all posts by Press Trust of India →
