PV Sindhu could not have found a better place to enact her revenge against Carolina Marin for her Rio Olympic Final defeat as the Indian defeated the spirited Spaniard 21-19, 21-16 to bag her maiden Yonex-Sunrise India Open title here on Sunday.
In front of a jam-packed Siri Fort Sports Complex, Rio silver medallist pocketed a tightly contested first game 21-19.
The game which could have easily gone either way was eventually grabbed by the 21-year-old Hyderabadi shuttler and that proved to be pivotal as Sindhu never looked back from there.
After taking a 4-0 lead in the second game, Sindhu was always ahead and had no less than five match points in the end after Marin hit her rally long.
Even though she could not grab the title at the first go, she did eventually pocket her first India Open title in the subsequent point after Marin struck the net, bringing loud cheer from the crowd.
A jubilant Sindhu raised both her hands and ran towards her coach Pullela Gopichand to celebrate the victory.
"I would like to thank the spectators as they were very supportive. It was really nice as the whole stadium was fully cheering for us," Sindhu told reporters after the match. "It is one of the important tournaments. After China Open this is my second title and that too at the start of the year," said the jubilant 21-year-old Indian.
Whereas Marin conceded that few unforced errors which she made during the 47-minute contest proved crucial in the end. However, she was happy with her overall performance.
"Today I couldn't play my natural game. I committed a few unforced errors and that was the key. The game was good for spectators but not for me because I lost. But I am happy with my overall performance this week," said the Spaniard.
Earlier, Sindhu won a neck to neck contest against Marin to bag the first game.
With the massive vocal home support on her side, including sports minister Vijay Goel present in the stadium, Sindhu entered the court with loud cheer. However, it was the Spaniard who won the first point.
But, the Hyderabadi shuttler's response was impeccable as she won the next six points to go 6-1 up. Sindhu looked to be on a roll, playing sublime shots and taking the game away without a fight, however, Marin clawed back in. She won the next 3 points to reduce the deficit to 4-6. And since then the contest turned into a neck-to-neck battle. Both players hardly gave any easy point for the other and pushed both to the limits.
Sindhu then created another mini gap to go 13-10 up, but Marin again came back to reduce the deficit. A great drop shot by Marin, brought the scores level on 16-16. Moments later, Marin lead the game only for the second time after Sindhu hit it wide. The scores read 18-17.
After the Hyderabadi won the next point to draw parity, Marin again went ahead. Sindhu was only able to divert Marin's smash on to the net as the left-handed Spaniard went 19-18 up.
But the Indian did not give up and won the next three points on the trot.
First with a drop shot she drew parity. Then, Marin hit wide attempting a drop, which gave the Indian game point. Sindhu grabbed the game at the first attempt after Marin could only manage to hit the Indian's smash wide.
After the match Sindhu emphasized the importance of winning the point at 19-19 as she taught it was anyone's game at that point.
"The first game was really crucial for me. It was a good match overall. I am really happy with my performance. She also played well and for both of us first game was really important. From the start both of us were fighting for each point. There were no easy points," explained Sindhu.
With the momentum and crowd at her back, Sindhu was on a roll in the second game, winning the first 4 points without much trouble.
However, the spirited Spaniard conjured another fightback. First she made it 2-4, then she was almost on Sindhu's tails by making it 6-7 following a great smash, which was too hot for the Indian to handle. Just when Marin looked to be getting back her form which saw her win the Olympic Gold in Rio last year, Sindhu got her winning touch again.
First, she won a crucial point from a long rally to make it 8-6, which made the crowd go crazy as they entire stadium started shouting the Hyderabadi shuttler's name. After Marin won the next point, the Indian pocketed the subsequent three points to go 11-7 up. The long hard-fought contest seemed to have finally got to Sindhu as she started to take few breathers in between the points.
However, it did not put back the Indian as she raced to a 15-10 lead after a brilliant smash.
Marin then won the next 3 points to make it 13-15, but Sindhu then did the same to go 18-13 up.
At 19-15, the Spaniard hit her shot long, giving the Indian five match points. Even though Sindhu failed to convert the first one, she grabbed her maiden India Open title in the next point after Marin struck the net.
It was Sindhu's fourth win in nine matches against Carolina. Moreover, she became the second Indian after Saina Nehwal to win the title. Saina won the title in 2015 by beating Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon 21-16, 21-14.
Marin has been enduring a tough spell of late. After the Olympic Gold last year, the Spaniard is yet to win a tournament. However, she felt the injuries she suffered post Rio Games was a reason for the barren run. "My best performance was in the Olympics Games. That was my goal for the year. After that I got some injuries but from January I am just getting better. After playing this week, it gave me some confidence. Now I am motivated to fight hard and keep going in the next tournaments," said Marin.