NEW DELHI: Indian badminton ace PV Sindhu faced her long-time rival, Carolina Marin of Spain, in a highly charged and ill-tempered semifinal at the Denmark Open Super 750 tournament. The fierce battle saw both players receive yellow cards for their verbal exchanges during the match.
Sindhu, who has been grappling with a challenging season, struggled against the relentless Marin, eventually succumbing to a scoreline of 18-21, 21-19, 7-21 in a match that spanned one hour and 13 minutes. This marked Sindhu’s fifth consecutive loss to Marin, who had previously defeated her in the 2016 Rio Olympics final and the 2018 World Championships summit clash.

While both Sindhu and Marin had previously talked about their good camaraderie off the court, the semifinal showcased none of it as they engaged in verbal spats throughout the match.
The tension on the court escalated to the point where both players were verbally warned by the umpire multiple times before being shown yellow cards in the decisive game.

Initially, the umpire had asked both players to tone down their celebrations after winning points, but Marin continued to scream and celebrate. Sindhu, on the other hand, was cautioned twice for taking too long to receive serves.
Marin also received two warnings for her exuberant celebrations after taking the first game 21-18. In the deciding game, the umpire reprimanded Sindhu to be ready to receive serve quickly. Sindhu responded by saying, “You allowed her to shout, so you ask her, and then I will be ready.”
Just after that, the shuttle fell on Sindhu’s court and both reached to pick it, leading to another verbal altercation. The chair umpire called both the players and flashed yellow cards to them. Marin was also told not to pick shuttle from Sindhu’s side.

In the first game, both players were neck and neck at 3-3 and then 7-7. Moments of brilliance were followed by unusual errors from both sides, making the score 18-18. Marin eventually seized the game with a powerful body smash and took a 21-18 lead.
In the second game, Sindhu demonstrated solid control and secured a 6-2 advantage. She further extended her lead to 10-3 by displaying superior net play, while Marin struggled with erratic shots. After the interval, Marin rallied back and the rallies became shorter and faster. Sindhu maintained a 12-10 lead after ending a stretch of seven consecutive points, and she eventually clinched the game with a smash, forcing the match into the decider.
In the deciding game, it was Marin who took control, racing to a 3-0 lead and then extending it to 8-2. However, at 14-3, both players were shown yellow cards for a verbal exchange. This incident seemed to affect Sindhu, as the match took a one-sided turn, with Marin dominating every aspect of the game. Marin ultimately ended Sindhu’s ordeal, winning with a score of 21-7 and securing her place in the final.
(With inputs from PTI)