Technical Committee Apologises To PV Sindhu
Technical Committee Apologises PV Sindhu: Badminton Asia Technical Committee President Chih Shen Chen has apologized to two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu for “human error” committed by the referee during the women’s singles semi-final match of the Badminton Asia Championships in April. Sindhu was left in tears after an “unfair” call by the umpires in the middle of her semi-final match against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, losing three matches and eventually signing with a bronze medal, which was won by Continental. It was his second in the championship.
Technical Committee Apologises PV Sindhu
“Unfortunately, there is no improvement at this point of time. However, we have taken necessary steps to avoid recurrence of this human error,” the official said in a letter to Sindhu.
“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused. We believe this is part of the game and is accepted as such.” The incident happened when Sindhu was leading 14-11 in the second game after winning the first game, when the umpire handed her a one point penalty for taking too much time to serve between points.
Sindhu, who turned 27 on Tuesday, lost her momentum after that incident and went down 21-13, 19-21, 16-21.
The Indian was seen having an animated discussion with the chief referee after the chair umpire asked Yamaguchi to hand over the shuttle, but it all fell on deaf ears.
“The umpire told me that you are taking too much time but the opponent was not ready at that time. But the umpire suddenly gave him the point and it was really unfair. I think that was one of the reasons why I lost,” Sindhu had said.
“I mean that’s my feeling because at the time it was 14-11 and could have been 15-11 but instead, it went to 14-12 and he took consecutive points. And I think it was very unfair. Maybe I would have won the match and played in the final.” Sindhu, who is a member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Athletes’ Commission, immediately wrote a letter to the world body and the Badminton Confederation of Asia opposing the decision.
Sindhu’s father PV Ramana expressed hope that such incidents would not happen in future.
He told PTI, “I am glad they accepted the mistake. I can humbly request that if such situation arises again, the referee should take some time and watch the recording, review the video.” and then take appropriate decision.”
Sindhu is currently competing in the Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament in Kuala Lumpur.