PV Sindhu settles for bronze at Badminton Asia Championships, skips medal ceremony

Two-time Olympic medallist and ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu raised eyebrows as she skipped the medal ceremony at the Badminton Asia Championships in Manila, Philippines.

Sindhu settled for a bronze medal after losing to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-13, 19-21, 16-21 in a controversial semi-final clash on Saturday (April 30).

The 26-year-old was one game up and was leading 14-11 in the second set. Everything was going in Sindhu's favor until she was handed a point penalty for taking extra time to serve between points. She protested, but in vain.

The entire chaos disrupted Sindhu's momentum, and she eventually closed off the tournament with a third-place finish.

PV Sindhu, umpire controversy Badminton Asia Championships:

PV Sindhu's missed medal ceremony led to steaming speculation doing the rounds on social media, assuming the semi-final controversy with the umpire as the reason for her absence from the podium.

However, there has been no official statement made by the shuttler or any authority in connection with the debacle.

Earlier, Sindhu had expressed disappointment in the referee's decision to hand a penalty point to her fancied Japanese opponent. That proved to be the turning point of the match.

Sindhu, after the match on Saturday, said:

"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. And I think it was very unfair. Maybe I would have won the match and played in the final."

Sindhu, who was seen having a discussion with the chief referee after the chair umpire asked her to hand over the shuttle to her opponent, said:

"I told the chief referee, he came and said it is already done. As a chief referee, you need to at least make sure what was the mistake. Maybe he should have seen the replay and should have done something about it."

However, after an aggravating semi-final loss to Yamaguchi, Sindhu took to Twitter and wrote:

"A medal at the end of an excruciating campaign is always special. This could have gone the distance. Looking forward to the next."