(S.Ravi Seshu)
Olympic Silver medallist PV Sindhu’s dream to make the year 2016 sweater was shattered by Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun in the semifinal match of the BWF Super Series Master Finals in Dubai on Saturday. World No: 10 Sindhu lost to the World No-5 Sung 15-21, 21-18, 15-21 in a thriller.

The match almost went on the lines of their encounter in China Open in which Sindhu won 11-21, 23-21, 21-19. The 21-year-old Indian, who was not in her usual sense, couldn’t match the aggression of her opponent in the first game. Strapped with band aides to her both the ankles, Sindhu couldn’t cover the court effectively in the first game. She showed her frustration when she lost a point at 11.13. Except for a few cross court shots, Sindhu failed to make an impact.

Shocked by the first game defeat, Sindhu changed the gears in the second game and stopped doing high services as they were coming in handy for her opponent. It indeed worked out along side her wonderful drop-shots notwithstanding the determined Korean’s cool campaign.

Standing at the jaws of a straight game defeat at 18-19, Sindhu shown her grit and bagged the second game in style raising hopes to Indian fans.

Going by the tired looks and dull posters of Sung, Indian fans expected Sindhu to raise the bar of her game in the decider. But, in contrast, Sung got a 4-0 lead and exerted pressure on Sindhu. The Hyderabadi couldn’t bridge the gap against the 25-year-old Korean. Sindhu made a comeback of sorts when the score was 10-16 but things didn’t workout for her.