'Just not my day today': PV Sindhu says 'it's not over yet' after Tokyo Olympics SF defeat

India's star shuttler PV Sindhu on Saturday was defeated by the world no.1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the women's singles semifinals. With this defeat, P V Sindhu's hopes of securing India's first-ever Olympic gold in badminton came crashing down. The 26-year-old silver-medallist from the Rio Games, however, remains in the hunt for bronze and will be competing against China's He Bing Jiao in the third-place play-off at Musashino Forest Plaza on Sunday.

One of the most consistent players, who has claimed medals in all big-ticket events in the last five years, Sindhu couldn't counter Tai Tzu's deception with her aggressive game, going down 18-21 12-21 in a 40-minute clash.

'Just couldn't be on the winning side'

"I'm a bit sad because it's the semifinals, but I tried my best, it's just not my day. I fought until the end. In the second game, I gave away a huge lead but still, I was fighting back because you never know, it can change at any moment. It's the Olympics, you have to fight until the last point and I have done that," said Sindhu after the match as reported by PTI.

"I was prepared for her skills, so I don't think that troubled me a lot. At the end of the day, the level of the semifinals is going to be really high - you can't expect easy points. I just couldn't be on the winning side."

This is Sindhu's 14th loss to the Taiwanese second seed in 19 meetings, having also lost to her in the last three face-offs.

PV Sindhu on her Bronze medal match

On her bronze medal match against China's He Bing Jiao, PV Sindhu said: "It's going to be a bit sad. I need to go back and relax and prepare for tomorrow because it is not over yet. I still have a chance. I hope I can give my best. It just wasn't my day (today), but I'm going to try it again tomorrow."

In the bronze medal play-off, Sindhu will next take on world no 9 He Bing Jiao, an opponent who has beaten the Indian nine times so far in 15 meetings. Sindhu, however, had won the last time they crossed swords at the 2019 BWF World Tour Finals.

(Image Credits: AP)