Sindhu loses to Marin in ill-tempered Denmark Open semifinal
both shown yellow card for verbal exchanges
Odense (Denmark) (PTI): Struggling Indian shuttler PV Sindhu lost to her old nemesis Carolina Marin of Spain in three games in an ill-tempered semifinal of the Denmark Open Super 750 tournament, which saw both players receive yellow cards for verbal exchanges, here on Saturday.
Sindhu, who has been struggling the whole season, lost 18-21, 21-19, 7-21 in the match that lasted one hour and 13 minutes. This was Sindhu's fifth loss on the trot against Marin who had beaten the Indian in that memorable 2016 Rio Olympics final as well as the 2018 World Championships summit clash.
World number 12 Sindhu and Marin, currently ranked sixth, had earlier talked about good camaraderie between them but they showed none of it on the court on Saturday.
Both were warned verbally by the umpire multiple times before being shown yellow cards in the deciding game. The umpire initially called both the players to tone down their celebrations after winning points.
But Marin continued to scream and celebrate while Sindhu was warned twice for taking longer time in receiving serve.
Marin was warned twice for loud celebrations after taking the first game 21-18.
In the decider after Sindhu won the second game, the umpire warned the Indian to be ready to receive serve quickly. At that point, Sinhdu was heard saying 'you allowed her to shout, so you ask her and then I will be ready'.
Just after that, the shuttle fell on Sindhu's court and both reached to pick it, leading to another verbal altercation. The chair umpire called both the players and flashed yellow cards to them. Marin was also told not to pick shuttle from Sindhu's side.
Sindhu said her opponent "was wrong on her part" but added that rivalries are good for the sport.
"Whenever we play, there are some other things going on on court, so yeah... a lot of people talk about it. It feels good that the competition is always high and the rivalry should be there because that's how the sport grows," said Sindhu.
"But today, I think, it was a bit more rivalry in the court but I just thought she (Marin) was wrong on her part."
In the first game, the two were locked 3-3 and then 7-7. Moments of brilliance were followed by odd errors from both as the score read 18-18.
The Spaniard then unleashed a body smash and grabbed two games points when Sindhu's backhand hit the net and followed it with a powerful smash to earn the bragging rights.
Sindhu, who had famously hugged Marin after the Rio Olympics final defeat, had a solid start to the second game, leading 6-2. The Indian zoomed 10-3 ahead as she showed better control at the net, while Marin was too erratic.
After the interval, Marin took the initiative and soon the rallies got shorter and faster with the Spaniard producing the winners with solid net-play.
Sindhu ended a stretch of seven straight points after winning a fast exchange to maintain the 12-10 lead. Sindhu then had four game points at 20-16. Marin saved three before Sindhu sealed it with a smash to take the match to the decider.
It was Marin who took the initiative in the decider, moving to 3-0 and then 8-2.
Marin was 14-3 up and around that time both were shown yellow cards for engaging in a verbal duel. The incident seemed to rattle Sindhu as nothing went her way and it was one way traffic. Soon, Marin ended Sindhu's misery after having 13 match points.
Sindhu said that the last two tournaments she had played in Europe had given her a lot of confidence.
"It is a good start. I would say, the European circuit, the Arctic Open and the Denmark Open. I couldn't go to the finals but playing in the semifinals, I'm slowly improving myself. It is in itself a big boost for me and gives me a lot of confidence. A lot of positives to take from here," added Sindhu.
Sindhu had also reached the semifinals at the Arctic Open Super 500 last week in Finland.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
