Under pressure, Sindhu reverted to playing to the left-hander’s forehand side, handing the Thai scourge advantage on a platter
It is not often you see a player needing 12 game-point opportunities to win a badminton match, where you need just two of those to go your way. That is what it took for Supanida Katethong to defeat PV Sindhu at the quarterfinals of Spain Masters Super 300 in Madrid. The Thai shuttler squandered five chances to win the opening game, then saw Sindhu sensationally save five match points in the decider from 15-20 down, but held her nerve to win a thriller 24-26, 21-17, 22-20 in 77 minutes.
It meant Sindhu’s wait for a title on the World Tour extended further, the last one coming in June 2022. On the night, there was just much more riding on the win for Katethong, as she tries to make a late push to qualify for Paris, currently sitting just one spot outside the top 16 where she’d need to be in a month.
