She lost the first point but won the subsequent to win the second game 21-16 and become the Women’s Singles champion. With this win, Sindhu also equalised 5-5 in career meetings against the two-time reigning world champion.
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The clash that Indian fans were eagerly waiting for will be played out right in the heart of the capital today. Sindhu, a product of Gopichand Academy, Sindhu had last beaten Carolina in the Dubai World Superseries in Dubai in December 16. Sindhu, who shares a good relationship off-court with Marin, agreed. The first game was a close affair as Marin took the first point but Sindhu then took five straight points to lead early. The see-saw game continued till the 19-point mark.
Sindhu came prepared for a long match.
“After China Open, this is my second title and that too at the start of the year”.
For Sindhu, who has now improved to 4-5 against Marin in senior global competition though, the win cements the confidence with which she is playing.
“I am really happy the crowd cheered both of us and they enjoyed themselves” said Sindhu after collecting $24,375 for her week’s work.
Both the players started on an aggressive note with the Korean taking an early 6-5 lead. Sindhu went into the break with a slim 11-9 lead.
Conquering Marin had been the toughest task for the Indian women shuttlers in the last couple of seasons.
Despite trailing, Sung always came back in the match.
The Spaniard leads her head-to-head against Sindhu 5-3, which includes her win in the Rio gold medal match previous year.
“Sindhu is just 21 and I think she will take us through for the next few years and by the time she is 25, we will figure something”.
“At 19-19 it could was anybody’s game but I won the points after that. There were no easy points, there were long rallies”, Sindhu said after winning the title.
Marin though disheartened after losing the final, praised her opponent. I reached the final. “I wasn’t under any pressure either in this match or in the tournament”, Sindhu said later. And in the end it was that was what really counted in the 47-minute match.
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While Marin had defeated Sindhu 19-21, 21-12, 21-15 in the final of the Rio Olympics, what worked in Sindhu’s favour is the fact that her performance after the Olympics has been much better than Marin.
