PV Sindhu thrashes Michelle Li to bag first-ever women's singles gold medal at CWG 2022
PV Sindhu defeated Canada's Michelle Li to win her maiden CWG gold medal.
The indomitable PV Sindhu finally brought an end to her quest for the elusive gold medal at the Commonwealth Games on Monday (August 08) as she defeated Canada'sMichelle Li in the women's singles final. Sindhu was at her dominant best as she thrashed Li 21-15, 21-13in straight gamesto finish on top of the podium.
The Olympic double medallist is one of the best shuttlers India has produced and has already won almost everything there is to be in her career. However, an individual gold medal at the Commonwealth Games had eluded Sindhu for a long time. She had lost in the women's singles final at the Gold Coast Games in 2018 against her Indian compatriot Saina Nehwal to miss out on the gold medal.
But on Monday, Sindhu was ruthless in the final against Li, who was a no match to her aggression and experience. The ace Indian shuttler dominated the proceedings right from the word go and eventually managed to get the better of the Canadian despite playing with an injury she had sustained in the semi-final on Sunday.
It was a good start to the first game with Sindhu and Li locked in an intense battle at 4-4. However, the Indian ace produced some stunning smashes and won rallies to take an 11-8 lead before extending it to 13-8. Li did fight back and managed to reduce the gap to 16-12 but Sindhu closed out the first game 21-15 without facing much trouble.
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In the second game, Sindhu didn't relent and continued her pursuit for gold as she raced away to an 8-3 lead. Sindhu once again managed to attain a healthy 11-6 lead at the interval in the second game and it was pure dominance from there as she stood just one step away from the elusive gold medal.
After a few unforced errors, Si closed the gap at 15-12 trying to force a decider but Sindhu managed to restore her five-point lead at 18-13 before clinching the game by 21-13 to bring an end to her gold medal drought at the Commonwealth Games.
With the victory, Sindhu completed the full set at the Commonwealth Games with all three medals - gold, silver and bronze now in her kitty. Sindhu had won the bronze medal at the 2014 Games and followed it up with a silver in the 2018 edition. With two Olympic medals, five Worlds medals and three CWG medals under her belt, Sindhu is already one of India's greatest athletes of all time.