In a match that surprised everyone for its one-sidedness, India's Pusarla Venkata Sindhu created history by becoming the first Indian to win BWF World Championship. She earned the title of world champion by crushing the 2017 winner Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7.
What made the difference in the match was the deadly smash of Sindhu that was too hot for Okuhara to handle. It seemed that having played a very intense match in the semi-final, the Japanese girl was unable to resist the relentless attack of the Indian badminton queen who made her opponent run around the court and majestically controlled the rallies.
Okuhara seemed highly rattled and ruffled right from the beginning and was unable to exert any pressure on her opponent. Her smashes early on in the match crashed into the net and many other ambitious shots she attempted went long or wide.
The frustration was apparent on the face of Okuhara as she often looked towards her coaches in despair and the body language of the former world champion also spoke of cluelessness. Sindhu now has all three medals in World Championships and is one of a handful of players to achieve that.
The match started with Okuhara getting the first point. But afterwards, Sindhu took control and used her power to force her opponent to all corners of the court. This was a match where PV's height came to good use as her opponent struggled to put up with the steepness of her smashes as well as failed to place any of her shots beyond Sindhu's reach.
What made Okuhara so effective in the last couple of years and let her win the epic 2017 World Championship final against the same opponent she had today was her matchless retrieving abilities. However, today, that quality seemed to betray her as she failed to reach many of the well-placed shots in the corners by Sindhu.
The power that Pusarla possesses also came to her assistance. It was the force behind many of her shots which made the 2017 champion unable to control her replies even if she was able to reach them. Okuhara was clearly not at her best as her vaunted ability to reach and return even the most effective shots was clealry missing. Very often the Japanese lady was on her knees after a failed attempt to get to Sindhu's thundering smashes.
After the game, an emotional Sindhu thanked her coaches including Pullela Gopichand and also her supporters. She made a highly patriotic comment when she said: "I am proud to be an Indian." Indeed, today is a day for every Indian to be proud of her.
