‘Three Matches in 18 Hours’: PV Sindhu Opens Up on Painful Asian Games Exit

Three points from victory. Three matches in 18 hours. For PV Sindhu, the end of her Asian Games campaign brought both physical exhaustion and the hurt of an opportunity lost.

The two-time Olympic medallist reflected on her quarter-final defeat to China’s Chen Yu Fei in a post on X, describing the strain of the schedule while acknowledging her chance to finish the contest.

Sindhu won the opening game convincingly before losing 21-11, 18-21, 10-21 on Sunday.

“My Asian Games campaign is over, and I’m hurting. Three points from closing out that quarterfinal. I keep coming back to those three points,” she wrote.

“I had my chance. Letting it slip hurts.”

Late Finish, Short Recovery

Sindhu’s Saturday programme was disrupted by a delayed first match and a second contest that was moved between courts. She finished the latter close to 1 am, leaving little time for her return to the hotel, dinner and recovery before Sunday’s quarter-final.

“Three matches in 18 hours. Back at 3 a.m., out again at 8:30 a.m. It took a toll,” she wrote.

“But after a camp that gave me every reason to believe, I wanted so much more. My team and I are already working on closing out those moments. We will fix it.”

The demanding turnaround preceded a match in which Sindhu initially looked in control, taking the first game 21-11 against the former world champion.

Chen responded with longer rallies, winning the second game 21-18 before pulling away in the decider.

“Like in China, long, demanding rallies at the most critical moments turned the match,” Sindhu wrote.

‘I Still Want This’

Alongside her disappointment, Sindhu stressed that her desire to compete remained intact.

“I’m hurting, but that’s okay. I’m glad it still means enough to hurt this much. I still want this. I still bring all of myself to that court. That feeling keeps me going,” she said.

She also reflected on a journey spanning four Asian Games, beginning with her debut in 2014.

“There’s room for pride, too. From my first Asian Games in 2014 to my fourth now, twelve years of giving everything for India. I want to let myself feel that. One painful result cannot define a journey that means so much,” she wrote.

Scheduling Concerns Extend Beyond Sindhu

Other players also raised concerns about late finishes and short recovery periods during the competition.

Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie and Japan’s Kodai Naraoka were among those affected, while China’s women’s doubles world No. 1 Tan Ning also questioned the scheduling.

Organisers had earlier revised the badminton programme after changes to the number of participating athletes. No official explanation had been issued in response to the latest complaints, according to the report.

Sindhu’s defeat, alongside Unnati Hooda’s quarter-final loss to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, ended India’s challenge in the individual badminton events. The men’s team bronze remained the country’s only badminton medal at the Games.

For Sindhu, the final word was a promise to return.

“To everyone who stayed up, cheered and believed: I wanted those last three points for us, too. Thank you for standing beside me. I’ll go again.”

With inputs from ANI