PV Sindhu goes down in straight games against Gregoria Mariska in Madrid Spain Masters 2023 final

This was the Indian's first summit clash since CWG.

Gregoria Mariska Tunjung beat PV Sindhu in straight sets (21-8, 21-8) and claimed her maiden title at the BWF 300 Madrid Spain Masters 2023. This was also the Indonesian’s first win against Sindhu (Sindhu leads h2h 7-1) with the last meeting at the 2022 Indonesian Masters. Tunjung has been in stellar form for the past few months and defeated several top-10-ranked players. She defeated home favourite Carolina Marin in straight sets in the semi-finals at the Madrid Masters.

PV Sindhu did not look in good touch throughout the game with Tunjung dominating from the first point. The first set finished inside 11 minutes and the Indian shuttler barely attacked. Coach Vidhi told Sindhu to attack in the mid-game interval but she never looked settled.

Sindhu had a tough semi-final match against Singaporean Yeo Jia Min. The two-time Olympic medallist came back from 15-20 to win the first set 24-22 (saving seven-game points in the opening set). She won the next set to make it to her maiden final of the 2023 season.

The 27-year-old has had a rough patch after winning the gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Sindhu suffered an injury after the Commonwealth Games and missed out on the second half of the season. She cameback post-rehab and played in the season opener at the BWF 1000 Malaysia Open but lost in the opening round.

Her form kept declining and lost in the opening rounds of the BWF 750 India Open and BWF 1000 All England Championships. In the middle of her declining form, Sindhu quit her partnership with coach Kim Ji-Hyun and is in search for a new coach.

PV Sindhu’s performance at the BWF 300 Spain Masters

R32 - defeated Jenjira Stadelmann (21-10, 21-14)

R16 - defeated Putri Kusuma Wardani (21-14,21-16)

Quarter-Finals - defeated Mia Blichfeldt (21-14,21-17)

Semi-Finals - defeated Yeo Jia Min (24-22, 22-20)

Final - lost to Gregoria Tunjung (8-21, 8-21)