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Badminton Asia Techincal Committee has asked for forgiveness from two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu for the 'human error' committed by the referee during the women's singles semifinal match of the Badminton Asia Championship. The official letter undersigned by Chih Shen Chen, the chairman of the Badminton Asia Technical Committee, stated that there is no rectification to the error but they hope Sindhu will accept the apology.
Notably, Sindhu was having a sensational run at the Badminton Asia Championship in April this year as she stormed into the semifinal of the competition. She was locking horns with Japanese shuttler Akane Yamaguchi and was cruising ahead in the match with the first game-winning by 21-13, and she was also a dominating force in the second game 14-11, but a call from the referee turned the game on Sindhu's head. The umpire handed the double Olympic medallist a one-point penalty for apparently taking too much time to serve in between points.
The decision changed things for the Indian shuttler as she lost her composure and she ultimately lost the match 21-13, 19-21, 16-21 from a winning position. Sindhu, who is a member of the Badminton World Federation's Athlete Commission, wrote a letter to the world body and the Asian Badminton confederation voicing her protest against the decision and demanding a thorough investigation.
The result of the match broke Sindhu into tears as she blamed the referee for unnecessarily punishing her with a point that eventually distracted her, and hence, cost her the game. In a fresh development, Badminton Asia Techincal Committee has released a sincere apology to the Indian shuttler and ensured that the body will take serious measures to not let any such incident happen in future.
"Unfortunately, there is no rectification at this time. However, we have taken the necessary steps to avoid a repetition of this human error. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. We believe it is part of the sport and that it is accepted as such," read the statement.