Manila: India’s hopeful PV Sindhu lost in the semifinals of the Badminton Asia Championships. Sindhu lost to Akane Yamaguchi of Japan by two games to one. The score was 21-13, 19-21, 16-21. Sindhu, who won bronze at the championships, is the second medalist at the Badminton Asia Championships. Sindhu had earlier won bronze at the 2014 championships. Yamaguchi, the world number two, defeated seventh seed Sindhu in a battle that lasted for more than an hour.
Meanwhile, during the second game of the match, the umpire awarded a penalty to Sindhu, causing a huge outcry. After winning the first game 21-13 and leading 14-11 in the second game, the Jordanian umpire awarded a penalty to Sindhu. Sindhu, who had dominated the match till then, lost the rhythm after that.
The umpire awarded a point penalty to the Indian for allegedly taking too much time for Sindhu to serve. The umpire asked Yamaguchi to hand over the serve to Sindhu, who had just won the toss. Sindhu Yamaguchi objected to the umpire’s decision, arguing that he was not served because he was not ready, but the umpire refused to change his decision.
After this incident, Sindhu was unable to maintain her dominance in the match. Meanwhile, strong protests are rising against the umpire’s decision. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online.
Nice umpiring! #BAC2022 pic.twitter.com/3EgLS4kW7n
— Sammy (@Sammy58328) April 30, 2022