Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu crashed out of the Denmark Open Super 750 tournament after losing 18-21, 21-19, and 7-21 to old foe Spain's Carolina Marin in the semi-final. While the first two games resembled a seesaw battle, it was one-way traffic in the third game as Marin outclassed Sindhu. However, the third game saw the two shuttles engaging in a war of words which led to them receiving a yellow card from the chair umpire for misconduct.
The argument started after Marin tried to drag the shuttle from Sindhu's side of the court. The two shuttlers exchanged a few words before the chair umpire punished them both. Earlier, the chair umpire had asked the players to "tone down the celebrations a bit" in the high-voltage game.
Earlier in the first game despite the chair umpire's warning, Marin continued to scream while celebrating. On the other hand, Sindhu was warned twice for taking too much time in receiving serve. In the second game, Sindhu was again warned twice for taking longer than needed to receive serve. Sindhu was not happy with the warning as she was heard saying "you allowed her to shout, so you ask her and then I will be ready".
This was Sindhu's second semifinal defeat this month. In the Arctic Open Super 500, Finland, she was beaten in the semifinal as well.
The rivalry between the two dates back to more than seven years. This was Sindhu's fifth loss on the trot against the Spaniard who is currently ranked sixth. In total, the two have faced each other 15 times out of which Sindhu has won five.
Earlier this week, Sindhu beat Thailand's Supanida Katethong in the quarterfinal in straight games. Marin, on the other hand, had a tough fight against Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying as she won 19-21, 21-15, 21-18.
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