Manila: PV Sindhu was absolutely furious after being docked a penalty point for taking too long to serve during the Badminton Asia Championships semifinal against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi on Saturday.
India’s two-time Olympic medallist had won the first game 21-13 and was leading 14-11 in the second when the umpire asked her to hand over serve to her opponent and awarded Yamaguchi the point as Sindhu had exceeded the time limit.
Sindhu couldn’t believe what she was hearing and protested vehemently, arguing that Yamaguchi wasn’t ready. She even called for the chief referee, but to no avail.
Watch the video clip shared on Twitter:
Nice umpiring! #BAC2022 pic.twitter.com/3EgLS4kW7n
— Sammy (@Sammy58328) April 30, 2022
Sindhu had to continue, but lost the momentum and went down in three games.
Lashing out at the umpire, the Hyderabad shuttler blamed the controversial decision for her defeat.
“The umpire told me ‘you’re taking a lot of time’, but the opponent wasn’t ready at that point. The umpire suddenly gave her the point and it was unfair. I think that was one of the reasons why I lost,” Sindhu said after the match.
A medal at the end of an excruciating campaign is always special. This could have gone the distance. Looking forward to the next. ✌️🙌🏼#asianchampionships #bronze🥉 pic.twitter.com/fZH7gGO1Mo
— Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) May 1, 2022
“I mean that is my feeling, because at that moment it was 14-11 and could have become 15-11 but instead, it became 14-12… I think it was very unfair. Maybe I would have won the match and played in the final,” said a disappointed Sindhu.
“I told the chief referee, and he came and said it is already done. As a chief referee, you need to at least make sure what the mistake was. Maybe, he should have seen the replay and should have done something about it,” Sindhu added.
