New Delhi [India], January 14 : Following her win over India's two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu in the opening round of the ongoing Indian Open, Vietnam's Nguyen Thuy Linh spoke on her approach against the former world champion, saying that she opted to stay more patient and defensive during the match.
After the highs of a semifinal finish at the Malaysia Open, Sindhu's 2026 season, which sees her return after an injury, faced a humbling low of a first-round exit in the India Open Badminton World Federation (BWF) Tour against Nguyen, giving her Vietnamese opponent a 3-2 head-to-head advantage. This marks her third triumph over the Indian badminton icon. Sindhu went down to Nguyen 20-22, 21-12, 21-15.
Speaking about her performance to the reporters, Nguyen said, "I think today I did good, I am not talking about wining or losing, but at least I tried until the end of the game."
Nguyen, who had not featured in the Malaysia Open prior to this tournament, said that she focused on giving her best against Sindhu, and after a few mistakes in her shots in the first game, which she lost, she became more defensive and patient.
"I talked with myself like, okay, I can lose, but what I can learn from my match? I think I am more defensive when I play with Sindhu and I have to be more patient. When in game one, I think I was too rushed to want to play my shots, so I did a lot of mistakes. But when in game two and game three, I try to be more patient. And as it was pointed out," he added.
Speaking on if the win has given her more confidence heading into the World Championships, she said, "Until the World Championships (later this year in Delhi), there is a long time. Everybody has got matches; they will learn and never stop. So for me, things are step-by-step.