Paris Olympics: Would have been different if I had won first game, says Sindhu after defeat

Paris, Aug 2 (IANS) Two-time Olympic medallist P.V Sindhu was disappointed on Thursday as her dream to become the first Indian to win a medal in three successive Games ended in Paris on Thursday. Sindhu went down to old nemesis He Bing Jiao of China in the women's singles pre-quarterfinals.

Sindhu's campaign ended in disappointment, and she will return home empty-handed for the first time from the Olympics as she lost 19-21, 14-21 to Bing Jiao in the Round of 16.

The 29-year-old Indian, who won a silver medal in the Rio Olympics in 2016 and followed it up by claiming bronze in Tokyo 2020, felt that a line call that went against her at 19-all in the first game made all the difference.

Sindhu challenged a line call, that was called in, in the Chinese player's favour but the ruling went against her. Sindhu said it would have been different if she had won the first game.

"I think the first game should have been a bit different is what I felt, especially at 19-all. It was anybody's game is what I felt because, you know, I challenged it and then it would have been good if it was in my favour. But it was on the line and it was 20-19 for her. Maybe if I would have won the first game, it would have been different," Sindhu told IANS after the match.

"I would have had a lot more confidence within me, is what I felt. I think the second game was good in the beginning, but she took the lead and then kept going. I was trying to cover it, but then I was making simple errors. But overall, I just felt that it's a sad day, but, yeah, I need to keep my head high," said Sindhu who had reached the pre-quarterfinals with three easy wins in her group.

Sindhu was disappointed that things did not go in her favour against a player she had played many times. They have recently traded wins in multi-sports events with Sindhu beating He Bing Jiao in the bronze medal match in the Tokyo Olympics while the Chinese returned the favour in the Asian Games quarterfinal at home in Hangzhou.

"It's sad that I couldn't get the result that I wanted. At the Olympics, everybody wants to win, but unfortunately, it didn't go the right way for me today. Bing Jiao also is a good player, and we played a lot of times in the, you know, last year and before that as well, so we know each other's game at the same time," Sindhu said.

Sindhu extended her best wishes to Lakshya Sen who is the lone Indian remaining in the fray in the Paris Olympics. Lakshya defeated compatriot H.S Prannoy 21-12,21-6 to reach the quarterfinals. He will take on 12th-seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei for a place in the semifinals."I wish him all the very best and I hope he does well. It's his first Olympics, so I want him to give his best and give his 100%," Sindhu said.