New Delhi: PV Sindhu's epic World badminton Championships final against eventual winner Nozomi Okuhara was one of those moments of near miss that the Indian sports fans, including fellow shuttler Saina Nehwal, will remember for years to come.
Olympic 2016 silver medallist Sindhu fell at the final hurdle on the biggest stage in the sport, failing to bring India the elusive gold medal from the tourney after being edged out by Japanese seventh seed Okuhara in a pulsating women's singles final on Sunday.
Fourth seed Sindhu lost 19-21, 22-20, 20-22 against the Olympic 2016 bronze medallist Okuhara in a gruelling match that lasted an hour and 50 minutes at the Emirates Arena.
It was Sindhu's third medal at the World Championships, with a bronze apiece from the 2013 and 2014 editions in her bag.
READ: PM Narendra Modi leads nation in hailing PV Sindhu's epic final performance
Sindhu's Hyderabadi citymate Saina Nehwal also stood on the podium after losing in the semi-finals, settling for a bronze medal as India bagged two medals for the first time in an edition of the World Championships.
Saina also has a silver from the 2015 edition and in Glasgow, while Sindhu became India's only second player with a second-place finish in the global badminton showpiece event.
Saina, who watched the gold medal-decider standing along the railings, later walked up to coach Pullela Gopichand and said, "Mera petrol khatam ho gaya dekhte, dekhte (I ran out of fuel, just watching this game)! Wonderful match." That is how the senior Indian badminton star felt while her compatriot was sweating it out in the court. To which, the coach even joked, "It had to end someplace. It couldn’t go on."
India's first medal from the World Championships, a bronze medal, came via Prakash Padukone in the 1983 edition.
Sindhu on Sunday gave herself a great chance to end India's quest of a maiden world title but fell short against Okuhara, who was the first Japanese to reach the women's singles final.
With this win, Okuhara, 22, has taken a 4-3 lead in career meetings against 22-year-old Sindhu.
Meanwhile, China's Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan defeated Japanese duo Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota 21-18, 17-21, 21-15 to win the women's doubles title.
(With IANS inputs)
