Eighteen-year-old Ruthvika Shivani Gadde earned plaudits at the 12th South Asian Games when she outclassed World No.12 P.V. Sindhu in straight games to clinch the gold in the badminton women’s singles final here on Wednesday.
Indian shuttlers made a clean sweep clinching seven gold and five silver medals in the multi-nation badminton event that came to an end on Wednesday.
Shivani, who picked up the racquet at the tender age of seven, made it to the final riding on a comfortable 21-5, 21-5 win over Nepal’s Nangsal Tamang, and eased past the experienced Sindhu 21-11 in the first game.
The second set brought the best out of both shuttlers, and despite trailing at one stage, Shivani rallied to take the set 22-20 to create the biggest upset of the Games.
I was just focused on my game. Before stepping into the court, I had that nervous feeling given that she is a big player. But as the match wore on, I grew with confidence and forgot about the same and played my shots. I had never won even a single set against her in the past. To beat her in straight sets, this was unexpected. But I am happy the way I played.Ruthvika Shivani Gadde
Elated with Shivani’s consistency and beating the world No.12, her coach Pullela Gopichand said: “Shivani is an exciting prospect. I hope she can continue to play with confidence at the higher levels of the game as well.”
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