PV Sindhu has won five World Championships medals in her career, more than any Indian woman in history, and for three games on Thursday night she looked ready to make it six. Then, in the kind of drawn-out, painful denouement that badminton specialises in, it slipped away.
Sindhu lost 11-21, 21-15, 17-21 to China’s Wang Zhi Yi in the quarterfinals in New Delhi, her first ever defeat to a Chinese opponent at the World Championships. The numbers do not quite capture the nature of it, the way she dragged herself back into a match that had looked gone, the way she closed to 16-15 in the decider with the home crowd roaring her on, the way it finally, agonisingly, ended.
“It hurts,” she said afterwards, and there was no reason to doubt it.
A match of three acts
The first game was a disaster. Wang, the world number three, came out with a clarity and a sharpness that Sindhu simply could not match, and the Chinese player ran away with it 21-11. In the stands, the home crowd that had turned up hoping for history sat in a tense quiet.
The second game was the response everyone had been waiting for. Sindhu, who has spent her entire career proving people wrong, fought back with the ferocity that has defined her, winning 21-15 and levelling the match. For a while, it felt like the old Sindhu was back, the one who had won world gold in 2019, the one who had beaten every Chinese opponent she had ever faced at this tournament.
The third game was where it all unravelled. Sindhu closed to 16-15, and then, at the crucial moment, sprayed a shot wide. Wang, chasing it, fell flat and clutched her left thigh, and the match paused for a medical timeout that would prove decisive.
The cramps controversy
What happened next is the part Sindhu will likely replay in her mind for a long time.
Wang returned from the timeout with the score level at 16-16, having battled what appeared to be severe cramps in both legs. But instead of wilting, the Chinese player found a second wind, winning the next five points and sealing the match 21-17.
Sindhu was diplomatic afterwards, but her words carried an edge. She suggested that Wang’s cramps in the closing stages “could have been part of her tactics,” while conceding that she herself needed to be more patient.
It was a generous reading of a painful situation, and it spoke to the frustration of the evening. Sindhu had the momentum, had the crowd, had the chance. And then, in the space of a few minutes, it was gone.
The end of a remarkable streak
The defeat carried a particular sting because of what it ended. Sindhu had never lost to a Chinese opponent at the World Championships, winning all eight of her previous encounters. It was a record that spoke to her ability to raise her game against the very best, to find something extra when the stakes were highest.
That record is now gone, along with her hopes of a sixth medal. And with her exit, India’s challenge in the women’s singles also ended, a sobering note on a tournament the hosts had hoped would deliver far more.
Sindhu’s own reflection on the defeat was characteristically measured. “You learn. You lose a lot. You win a lot. I mean, when you lose, you need to deal with it,” she said. “Definitely a lot of lessons to be taken. But it is disappointing when you lose.”
A legacy already secure
None of this should obscure what Sindhu has already achieved. Five World Championships medals, including gold in 2019, silver in 2017 and 2018, and bronze in 2013 and 2014. Two Olympic medals. A career that has made her one of the most decorated athletes in Indian sporting history.
The pursuit of a sixth medal was always going to be about history, about doing something no one had done before, rather than about validation. Sindhu’s legacy was secure long before she walked onto the court in New Delhi on Thursday.
But the defeat still hurts, because that is how sport works. The pursuit matters, the near miss stings, and the “what if” lingers. Sindhu is 30 now, and the question of how many more World Championships she will play is a legitimate one. This may have been her last, best chance at that sixth medal.
The wider Indian picture
Sindhu’s exit is a blow, but it should not define the tournament for Indian badminton. The doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty remain in contention, and their run offers the home crowd something to cheer in the latter stages of the championships.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have also impressed, reaching the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles with a performance full of intent. The depth of Indian badminton, so evident in recent years, is still producing.
But there is no escaping the fact that the two biggest singles names, Sindhu and the already-eliminated Lakshya Sen, have both fallen earlier than hoped. The home tournament has not delivered the fairy tale, and the disappointment in the stands on Thursday night was real.
What comes next
For Sindhu, the immediate future is about recovery and reflection. She spoke of lessons to be taken, of the need to be more patient, and there is every reason to believe she will return stronger. She has spent her career bouncing back from setbacks, and this will be no different.
The badminton calendar rolls on, with more tournaments to come, and Sindhu’s name will remain one to watch. But for now, the pain of Thursday night lingers.
“It hurts,” she said. And for the millions who have followed her journey, it hurt a little too.