Indonesia Open 2019: PV Sindhu goes down fighting in the final to Akane Yamaguchi

The final hurdle at the Indonesia Open 2019 proved too high for fifth seed PV Sindhu as the Indian shuttle queen went down fighting 15-21, 16-21 to the fourth seed Akane Yamaguchi in Jakarta on Sunday.

After a blazing start by the Japanese in the summit clash, the Indian regrouped well to storm back from a 0-3 deficit and level things at 3-3. Sindhu's brilliant smashes were working like a dream in the initial part of the match that silenced the diminutive Japanese and helped the Indian move ahead to 5-3 and then build an 11-8 advantage at the mid-game interval.

However, a determined Yamaguchi refused to give up and started injecting more pace and aggression into her shots. By taking time away from the shuttle, she made it a difficult affair for the Indian. Akane remained rooted in the frontcourt to hit back at Sindhu with a relentless barrage of body smashes that Sindhu soon started struggling to find an answer to.

The pressure got to Sindhu and errors started flowing from her racquet as Yamaguchi raced ahead to 18-14 before closing out the first game at 21-15.

Akane was in no mood to back off even in the second game. By consistently targeting the weaker Sindhu backhand, the fourth seed always looked to be having the upper hand in this duel. After Akane went up to 4-1, Sindhu started finding her attacking shots for a while only to see her opponent going up to 11-8.

Post the break; the Indian began looking physically as well as mentally fatigued and short of ideas about how to tackle Yamaguchi. The lack of confidence on her part helped Yamaguchi soar higher as she refused to make a mistake and remained sharp till the end of the match. A cut on her knee halted the match for a brief period, but when the proceedings resumed, there was no change in fortunes.

Sindhu's last-ditch effort to throw in some variation saw her pushing her crosscourt shots wide, and it was only a matter of minutes before Yamaguchi wrapped up the title on her first match point in 51 minutes with yet another body smash.

This was the in-form Yamaguchi's third title of the season to add to her triumphs at the German Open and the Badminton Asia Championships. This was also her first victory over Sindhu after four consecutive losses.

As for Sindhu, she can take a lot of positives from this week. After a barren period, she reached her first final since winning the BWF World Tour Finals seven months ago. Wins over World No. 2 Nozomi Okuhara and World No. 3 Chen Yufei would give her a lot of conviction to carry this form forward to the upcoming tournaments.