World No. 1 women's shuttler Tai Tzu Ying thanked all those who supported her -- including India shuttler PV Sindhu -- after losing a nail-biting final against China's Chen Yu Fei here at the Musashino Forest Plaza on Sunday.
Chen Yu Fei reclaimed China's major event supremacy in women's singles after nine years, achieving gold and glory at Tokyo 2020 in a match of fluctuating fortunes. The top seed withstood a severe test from Tai Tzu Ying, eventually capitalising on a rash of errors from the World No.1 to take the title 21-18, 19-21, 21-18.
India's Sindhu added a second Olympic medal to her tally, powering past He Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15 in the bronze medal play-off.
"I stepped on this dream stage for the third time and finally made it to the finals, but I couldn't stand on the highest podium. There is always a little regret, but imperfections always exist, so I have the motivation to pursue better result," she wrote on her Instagram in Chinese.
"Maybe I won't have another chance to participate in the Olympics, but I've achieved this goal, just not so perfect. I just want to tell myself: Tai Tzu-Ying, you're great! Thank you to all of you who have supported me, the results are always brutal and only acceptable but I try my best."
"Thank you to all who helped us during this period, and thank you to the representative office in Japan who sent a secretary to help us with various issues at the hotel. Thank you to my team. During the epidemic, we couldn't go home together and trained for a long time."
Sharing a little story after her match, Tai Tzu wrote: "After the game, I was still satisfied with my performance. Later, Sindu ran over and hugged me, held my face, and told me: I know You're very uncomfortable and you've been very good, but today isn't your day. Then she held me in her arms and said: She knows all about it. That sincere encouragement, made me cry..... really sad because I tried really hard. Thank you again for your support and encouragement. Thank you all for walking with me till now."
( With inputs from ANI )
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