PV Sindhu became the first Indian to win the BWF World Championships, crushing Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in just 38 minutes in a one-sided final on Sunday.
With the win, Sindhu now has a full set of medals at World Championships – two bronze medals, two silver medals and a gold medal.
After losing the last two finals, Sindhu finally won gold and at the post-match interview said that she is “proud to be an Indian”.
“I lost in the last two finals and this win was very important for me. I want to thank the crowd for supporting me every time,” Sindhu said after the match.
“I won for my country and I am very proud to be an Indian.
“A big thanks to my coach Miss Kim and Gopi sir and the entire support staff. I also want to dedicate this to my parents and especially my mom, it’s her birthday today. So, happy birthday mom.”
bronze in men’s singles category.
The last time Sindhu and Okuhara met in a World Championships final was in 2017. In a pulsating encounter that lasted nearly two hours and involved a 73-shot rally, Okuhara emerged victorious in the end. Sindhu again reached the final in 2018, only to go down to Carolina Marin of Spain. However, she finally broke the jinx this time, brushing aside her opponent with a dominant show from start to finish.
In stark contrast to world No. Sindhu, the Japanese world No. 4 on Sunday looked completely at sea against the Indian star’s relentless attacks.
Although Okuhara won the first point of the first game, Sindhu won eight straight points after that to race to a 8-1 lead. Okuhara managed just one more point before the interval with Sindhu leading 11-2.
The mauling continued for much of the second period of the opener, which ended in just 16 minutes. Okuhara got a few consecutive points towards the end to extend her score to 7 but Sindhu sealed the issue on her first game point.
