World Championships: Carolina Marin proves too good for P V Sindhu; Bronze for the Indian

P V Sindhu in action against Carolina Marin/Getty Images

In a repeat of their exchange in Australia, earlier this year, Carolina Marin proved too good for a tiring P V Sindhu in the semifinals of the World Championships in Copenhagen. The Spaniard produced a controlled performance, taking advantage of the errors from an inconsistent Sindhu to claim a straight forward 21-17, 21-15 victory and march into the finals. Marin will face Xuerui Li, who had trounced Minatsu Mitani in the other semifinal.

Sindhu appeared jittery at the start, perhaps aware of the gravity of the opportunity at hand, a netted smash giving away her nerves. The Spaniard, seeking to become the first Spanish woman to reach the finals of a World Championship, jumped to a 3-1 lead. The gap grew to four, with Sindhu's racket bleeding some early errors.

But from 2-6, Sindhu finally started to make her presence felt. Some intelligent use of her backhand and a cross court winner helped Sindhu draw even at 6-6, before making it six points in a row to enjoy the lead for the first time in the match.

This was an even contest though and Marin recovered with a brilliant drop to stem the tide, before getting even again at 8-8. After going the distance in the quarters, both players seemed intent on playing a fast paced game with short rallies. The two changed ends at an almost inseparable 11-10, Marin enjoying a slender lead.

Immediately after they got back on court, Marin raced ahead taking three straight points and the lead expanded to five when she dealt another delicate drop shot. Sindhu was searching constantly for space to attack but Marin was alert to the threat, drawing away to 18-11, within touching distance of the first game.

Eventually, Sindhu fought a gallant battle to win another six points, including a saved game point. Marin closed out the first game with a thundering smash to underline her supremacy. Sindhu was far too erratic in the first game, though her resilience and power aided her during some strecthes of the game, Marin was the better player through the first 30 minutes.

The second game got off to an even start, with Sindhu needing to rally from a game down for a third straight match. The two players remained even to 3-3, but the Indian surrendered a two point deficit to the Spaniard. But Sindhu produced a couple of excellent smashes to go ahead 6-5. Even though she remained inconsistent, Sindhu managed to hold on to a slender lead over her opponent, switching ends at 11-9.

After the break, Marin produced yet another stunning beautiful drop shot to draw level at 13-13. That was to be the final turning point of the semifinal between these two young and promising players. Perhaps fatigue too started to take its toll, as Marin gained control moving Sindhu back and forth before clinching the point with clever variations in pace.

Carolina Marin after her victory over P V Sindhu/Getty Images

An excellent sliced drop earned Marin a three point advantage at 17-14, as the match started to slip away from the Indian teenager. The Spaniard inched closer to victory as she snagged the next two points and the writing was on the wall for Sindhu. Any hopes of a miraculous escape for the Indian evaporated when Marin won an engaging exchange at the net to gain match point.

It was all Marin needed, as she took her first opportunity to finish the match and march into the finals against the top seeded Xuerui Li. Sindhu tasted a familiar defeat, just as she did last year, to return home with another bronze medal. But the teenaged Indian has shown great heart this week to come back from the brink and these experiences should serve her well at the Asian Games in a few weeks from now.