India's ace shuttler PV Sindhu began her Paris Olympics campaign with a resounding 21-9, 21-6 win over Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq of Maldives in a group-stage fixture on Sunday, July 28. Sindhu was a bit rusty at the beginning and it took an unforced error by Razzaq for Sindhu to win her first point in the game.
Sindhu took a 2-0 lead with the help of a clear sent down the line. However, she soon lost momentum because of a few unforced errors while trying to outmanoeuvre her opponent.
Sindhu's slip-up allowed Fathimath to push the scores to 5-4 before the two-time Olympic medallist came roaring back.
The Hyderabad-born announced herself on the court as she made Fathimath look very ordinary and raced into the mid-game interval with an 11-4 lead.
The 29-year-old picked up from where she had paused and showcased the reason why she was billed as an overwhelming favourite to win the contest against her Maldivian opponent.
Fathimath tried really hard to wrestle back momentum but Sindhu foiled her plans to take the opening game 21-9. Sindhu amped up her play in the second game and swiftly gained an eight-point lead (11-3) to head into the mid-game interval.
Fathimath's fortunes didn't take a fortuitous turn after the play resumed as Sindhu came all guns blazing and finished the Maldivian challenge by dropping just three points.
The world No. 13 will now take on the world No. 75 Kristin Kuuba of Estonia on Wednesday. Notably, Sindhu is eyeing a third straight medal at the Games. She had won a silver at the Rio Olympics after going down at the hands of Spain's Carolina Marin in a three-game-long thriller.
At Tokyo Olympics, she looked like cruising at one stage before Tai Tzu Ying put an end to her golden dreams. She defeated He Bing Jiao to claim the bronze medal.
