Sindhu, who was aiming to become the first-ever Indian player to win the World Superseries Finals, fought tooth and nail in the nerve-wracking final. The final clash was indeed a battle of nerves, as Yamaguchi held on to lift the trophy after a 94-minute battle.
PV Sindhu may have lost, but she played one of her best games! 🏸🏆
— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) December 17, 2017
Thank you for making us proud. Silver medal for the 🇮🇳 queen 🥈 pic.twitter.com/tSpd2BghQZ
Starting off her maiden Dubai final, Sindhu took away the opening game on the back of long rallies as the Indian won the game 21-15. Having taken the lead, the Indian raced away to a 5-0 lead in the second game as well. Just when it looked like Sindhu would walk away with the win with a confident show, the higher-ranked opponent got right back into the game.
Finding her game back, the Japanese went into break with a valuable 11-9 advantage. Following the break, Sindhu found it tough to get going as Yamaguchi took the match into the decider, after winning the second game 21-12 in just 26 minutes.
#DubaiSuperSeriesFinal : #PVSindhu loses 21-15,12-21,19-21 in the final against Akane Yamaguchi#DubaiSSF pic.twitter.com/Sb2opr1pbY
— Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) December 17, 2017
Following the second game, Sindhu in comparison to her opponent looked exhausted. But the Indian was not one to give up as she raced away to a 4-0 lead in the decider, prevailing over Yamaguchi in two long rallies. But the Japanese proved her mettle as she bounce back to level the scores 5-5.
Though Sindhu went into the break at 11-8, Yamaguchi fought hard as the contest went neck to neck from thereon. It was only a battle of nerves as both players pushed hard. But in the end it was heartbreak for Sindhu as a gritty Yamaguchi grabbed the decider 21-19 to emerge champion.