twist in PV Sindhu's tale

Sindhu's last defensive stance — feet fanned out in a standing sprawl, unsure of moving to left or right — summed up her predicament throughout the World Championships semifinal against Thai wonder Ratchanok Intanon in Guangzhou, China. The World No 3's impressively deceptive play and Sindhu's inability to control the pace of the match meant she went down 21-10 21-13 in 36 minutes.
Ratchanok faces world No.1 Li Xuerui in the final on Sunday.

The Indian, meanwhile, ended her maiden Worlds campaign with a creditable bronze — India's first in the women's singles category and third overall. However, she was clearly second-best to her opponent on Saturday at the Tianhe Stadium, after Ratchanok toyed with Sindhu using her superior wrist-work and deception, putting perennial doubt in the Indian's mind about which way the shuttle would fly. Several times, the Indian was left rooted to the spot or heading in the wrong direction as the Thai's flicking wrist overwhelmed Sindhu and left her clueless. The Indian also failed to quicken the pace of the rallies to her liking, as Ratchanok slowed things down weaving patterns that pointed to the highest tactical nous.

World No. 12 Sindhu had notched up stunning wins against two Chinese players in the run-up to the semis but was at a loss against a far superior player. While Ratchanok mixed her strokes moved smoothly across the court, Sindhu committed too many unforced errors allowing her opponent to move into the interval at 11-4 in the opening game.