Syed Modi International 2022: PV Sindhu wins gold medal after 29 months

India's ace badminton player PV Sindhu finally ended her title drought after 29 months as she won the women's single title at the Syed Modi International 2022 BWF Super 300 tournament after defeating her Indian compatriot Malvika Bansod in straight games in the final by 21-13, 21-16 on Sunday.

This is one of her long-anticipated title wins and one that comes after she last won a title in August 2019 when she was crowned the World Champion in Basel, Switzerland. The World no. 7 Indian shuttler had to wait for another week after she was handed a shocking defeat by World No. 30 Supanida Katethong in the semifinals of the India Open last week. At the Syed Modi quarters, Sindhu got her sweet revenge by defeating Supanida however.

Sindhu bounced back quite well and brought her A-game to the court and she won the first game quite comprehensively. From there on, Sindhu carried on with the momentum and she wrapped up the match in straight sets within a span of 35 minutes. Taller, stronger and definitely more experienced that Bansod, Sindhu attacked fiercely and the gap in their levels of play was a little glaring, at some points.

Earlier, the men's singles final of the Syed Modi India International 2022 was declared a 'No Match', Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed on Sunday. The men's singles final was slated to be contested between Arnaud Merkle and Lucas Claerbout. "BWF can confirm one of the finalists tested positive for COVID-19 this morning," stated an official statement.