And that’s a wrap from our side. PV Sindhu might not have won gold, but her achievement is something that’ll fill the people of this nation with pride. Her silver medal will pave way for more young talent to surface in the sport. And with someone like P.Gopichand as coach, it’s is safe to say, that they’ll be in good hands.
India’s Chief badminton coach P. Gopichand played a huge role in the success of PV Sindhu and Srikanth Kidambi. A champion as a player, and now is nurturing champions of the next generation. Hats off to him!
Here’s a fun fact - This is the first time in the history of Olympics that a Chinese player was not on the podium of the Women’s singles badminton tournament.
Great news! President of the Badminton Association of India has announced a Rs 50 lakh prize for PV Sindhu and her coach P. Gopichand.
The former Indian captain suggests naming a storm after PV Sindhu. I concur with the idea!
PV Sindhu is the youngest Indian medalist at the Olympics! The prime minister and president extend their congratulations.
Veteran Indian shooter and Olympic silver medalist at the 2004 edition, says that this silver will pave the way for more medals.
The Indian Football captain had something to say on how Sindhu united the nation.
India’s only individual Olympic gold medalist has called PV Sindhu an inspiration.
PV Sindhu, Carolina Marin and Nozomi Okuhara are out for the medal ceremony now.
PV Sindhu is only India’s fifth female Olympic medalist. Sakshi Malik, Saina Nehwal, Mary Kom and Karnam Malleswari had won it before her.
A beautiful show of sportsmanship even in defeat by PV Sindhu as she picks up her opponent’s racquet and hugs the triumphant Marin.
It’s a heartbreak for PV Sindhu, who against all odds reached the final of the tournament. She will win the silver medal.
It was a wonderful performance by the Indian though. The country will be proud of her achievement. She becomes the first Indian to win an Olympic silver medal in badminton.
Marin wins Gold; Sindhu settles for silver
Marin is on her knees in tears as she wins the match 19-21, 21-12, 21-15. She has clinched the gold medal.
Sindhu keeps her hopes alive. 20-15.
Match point for Marin now. She leads 20-14!
Sindhu hits it wide. 19-14 to Marin.
Marin leads 18-14 after some intelligent play.
Straight smash by Marin; Sindhu unable to return it. Marin leads 17-14.
Unforced error by Marin and the gap reduces. 16-14!
Marin’s smash has gone out! It is 16-13.
Sindhu has her point. The lead is down to 3 now.
Brilliant play by the Spaniard crippling Sindhu there. Marin leads 15-11.
Sindhu lets it go and it is in. Bad choice by the 21 year old. The game is opening up now. Marin leads 14-11.
Uncalled error by Sindhu. She makes a mess of a simple return. 13-10 to Marin now.
And Sindhu has hit it out! It’s 11-10 in favour of Marin, but this is anyone’s game now. It is the Olympic finals any neutral would’ve hoped for.
Marin has been clearly dominant till now but Sindhu is matching her opponent somehow.
This will be a crucial point before the interval.
A fabulous rally again. Sindhu wins the point and ties the game 10-10.
Quick movement by Sindhu. Marin can’t keep up. 10-9 now.
Sindhu hits a lob. Marin rightfully chooses to let it go out. 10-8 to Marin.
Sindhu keeping up the fight. Marin hits out in desperation. 9-8 to Marin!
Sindhu is staging a comeback here. A reverse backhand and the score is 9-7 now!
A point on service for Sindhu. 9-6!
Point for Sindhu. She is pumped up. 9-5.
Marin is hitting flatter smashes which are hard to defend against. She leads 9-4.
Sindhu attempts a lob. It goes out. 8-4 in favour of Marin.
A backhand lob by Marin. Sindhu thought it was going out but it fell well within the limit. 7-3 to Marin.
Sindhu fighting back. Surprises Marin with a smash. 6-3.
Marin has hit it out. She chuckles at her mistake. 6-2.
There goes another point. Marin leads 6-1. Chances slimming for the Indian.
Sindhu has no answer to Marin’s pace. A cross-court smash by Marin establishes a 5-1 lead in the third game.
An unforced error by Sindhu as her smash hits the net. 3-1 to Marin.
A straight smash down the middle and Sindhu has her first point of the third game. 2-1!
Sindhu hits it out of court. She’s down 2-0.
And Marin draws first blood in the deciding game. 1-0 to the Spaniard!
The third game is underway. It is the perfect set-up for a grand stand finish. This has been a thrilling ride so far. Let’s see who goes on to win the gold!
Marin wins the second game
Carolina Marin came out as a completely different player in the second game. She wins it 21-12 in a display full of fiery aggression. Sindhu looks dejected. Marin will head into the third and final game with a psychological advantage as she has the momentum on her side.
Game point for Marin. She leads 20-12!
19-12 now! Sindhu forces an error from Marin.
Sindhu’s smash misses the white line by a whisker. Marin leads 19-11.
Marin attempts a smash. Hits it out of the court. 18-11.
It’s gone out by Marin. 18-10.
Precisely directed downward smashes by Marin proving to be a trump card. She leads 18-9.
Momentum broken as Sindhu hits the net. 17-9.
Sindhu smashes Marin’s serve closing in the gap. 16-9!
Another cross court smash and another point for Marin. The deficit is 8 points now. Marin leads 16-8!
Cross court smash by Marin and Sindhu is unmoved! 15-7!
Amazing defence by Sindhu as she blocks three consecutive smashes by Marin. It is 14-7 now.
Marin has challenged the decision of the umpire as he called ‘out’. Replays show the shuttlecock landed just outside the white line. Marin leads 13-6 now!
Marin mixing it up really nicely forcing an error from Sindhu. Marin has the advantage at 13-5.
Marin showing her firepower leaving Sindhu’s defence rattled. She leads 12-4.
Change of sides, and a change of luck for Sindhu as she gets her point. 11-3!
A smash to the left, a smash to the right. Marin has put Sindhu on the backfoot as she leads 11-2 at the interval of the second game in the Women’s singles badminton final.
Marin pounces on to a loose shot by Sindhu. She leads 10-2 now.
Marin has misguided Sindhu’s movement again. 8-2!
Sindhu hits the net again. Marin has extended her lead to 7-2 in the second game.
Its 6-1 for Carolina Marin in the second game. There seems to be no stopping her. Can the Indian bounce back?
Marin’s directional court-play is troubling Sindhu. She leads 4-0 in the second game.
Lovely drop shot by Marin. She leads the second game 2-0.
The second game starts and Marin is all fired up. She wins the first point after a fiery smash.
PV Sindhu takes the first game!
Brilliant comeback by the Indian shuttler as she pumps her fist after winning the first set 21-19. After a nervy start to the set, Sindhu’s resilience finally paid off as she forced another error from Carolina Marin to win the set.
Sindhu leads 20-19! Game point!
The game is tied at 19-19 as Marin hits another shot out!
Sindhu keeps the game alive. Marin fumbles an easy shot. 19-18.
Marin miscalculates a lob, hits it out. 19-17!
Sindhu has no answer to Marin’s downward smashes. She’s just a spectator. Marin on the verge of winning the opening set. She leads 19-16.
Sindhu challenges the decision, but the shuttlecock fell outside the line. 18-16 to Marin.
A rally worthy of an Olympic final! Marin hits it out. Sindhu closes in at 17-16.
Marin hits a smash right at directly Sindhu’s body. Regains a two point lead at 17-15.
Sajjan Jindal is seen in the crowd passionately cheering for Sindhu.
Unwanted error by Sindhu as she misses an easy shot. Marin leads 16-13.
Its out! Sindhu closing in the gap now. 15-13 in favour of Marin.
An unblockable power smash by Marin! She leads 15-11.
Marin misses her serve. Silly mistake. Good for the India. Marin leads 14-11.
Another unforced error by Sindhu. Marin still in lead 14-10.
Marin touches the net. Sindhu gets the point despite losing the rally. Marin leads 12-8.
It’s out of court by Sindhu again. Marin extends lead to 12-6.
Another drop shot to win the point as Marin leads 11-6 at the interval in the first game of the women’s singles final.
Marin is really on the front foot now. Her aggression is showing. She leads 10-6.
A brilliant rally finished by a downward smash by Marin. She leads 9-5.
Here’s Sindhu smash we’ve been waiting for! Score is 7-4 now.
Sindhu is struggling to get a foothold in the game. Marin leads 7-3 now.
Marin is not letting Sindhu settle. She leads 5-2 now!
Marin leads 4-2 as she capitalizes on weak shots by Sindhu.
Here we go!
Sindhu leads 2-1 after forcing an error from Marin.
The finalists have walked on to the court. The match is about to begin now.
The final will begin shortly as it had been delayed due to the ongoing Men’s Singles second semi-final.
Carolina Marin has a head-to-head advantage
In the past, Sindhu and Marin have faced each other seven times. Marin edges Sindhu head to head winning 4 times with her latest victory coming in November 2015, at the Hong Kong Open.
Carolina Marin has popularly been called Girl Nadal in her country as she shares the same tenacity and aggression of Rafael Nadal, the Spanish tennis behemoth. She boasts a career win percentage of 76.25%, according to Badminton World Federation statistics. She won the World Championships in 2014 and 2015, beating Sindhu on herway to one of the titles.
Marin, a left hander, is infamously known for her fast paced play and her ability to produce winning shots from odd angles. She also has a menacing shriek that is known to startle her opponents from time to time.
Welcome to BloombergQuint’s live coverage of the women’s singles badminton final at the Rio Olympics 2016.
Yesterday, PV Sindhu created history by becoming the first Indian shuttler to reach a badminton final at the Olympics. The 21-year-old defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-19, 21-10 in the semi-final.
Today she goes for the historic gold medal in badminton that has eluded India for so long. However, Sindhu has an uphill task ahead of her as she faces World. No. 1 Carolina Marin of Spain in the final.
Marin is no pushover herself. She defeated defending Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China in the semi-final, ending Chinese domination in the sport.
Can Sindhu overpower Marin to fulfill India’s dream of an Olympics gold eight years after Abhinav Bindra secured that honour.
We’ll find out shortly as the match begins at 6:55 pm IST.
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