PV Sindhu once again proved her class as she advanced into the finals of the China Open Super Series Premier with a thriller against Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun. Sindhu is through to the final of the China Open Superseries after coming from a game down to beat Sung Ji Hyun of South Korea 11-21, 23-21, 21-19.
Sindhu will face local favourite Sun Yu in the final on Sunday.
Sindhu has been in sublime form after winning the silver medal at the Rio Olympics – to become the best performance by an Indian shuttler at the Summer Games.
This is the third year in a row that an Indian woman will be in the final of the big event which has historically seen Chinese domination. In 2014, Saina Nehwal won the tournament but in 2015 she ended up as runner-up to Li Xuerui. Now, PV Sindhu will compete against another Chinese for the title.
To add to Sindhu’s prowess, she saved three match points in the second game to hold her nerves and keep the contest going. From 17-20 down, she saved the three match points and then made it 21-20 to win crucial four points in a row.
Her opponent Sun Yu is an up and coming player in Chinese badminton and has already made a mark by rising to number nine in the rankings and is seeded eighth at the China Open.
India’s representation at the China Open started with Nehwal losing in the first round while in the men’s department, Ajay Jayaram made the furthest foray where he lost to Chen Long in the quarterfinals.
Pv Sindhu in the QuarteriFinal Game
She reserved a dominant victory against local girl He Bingjiao 22-20, 21-10 in the quarterfinals on Friday.
The Olympic silver medallist exacted revenge by mowing down the fast-rising Chinese teen in clinical fashion in just 39 minutes. Binjiao had defeated Sindhu at the French Open and went on to win the Super Series title last month.
What PV Sindhu said after her victory in Quarters?
Delighted with the victory, Sindhu said that the first game was crucial. “It’s a good game. The first game was very crucial. After winning it I wanted to maintain that pressure. I didn’t take it easy even though I got an early lead. Overall it was a good match,” Sindhu told TOI from Fuzhou.
Summary of PV Sindhu vs He Bingjiao game in Quarters
With the Li Ning shuttle moving slowly, Sindhu had to give up the option of playing her favourite smashes. She then concentrated on tiring her opponent with long rallies. Court craft came to the fore as both players tried to outsmart each other with net drops and cross court drives.
Binjiao even went ahead at 20-19 but Sindhu relied more on pushes and confused her opponent. With three straight points, she won the crucial first game. Realising that Binjiao, who has a number of tricks in her repertorie, would go all out, Sindhu played tightly from the start of the second game.
The 21-year-old maintained the pressure with her gameplan of playing more pushes. She opened up an eight-point lead at 12-4 and maintained her healthy advantage throughout the game.
Even as TV pundits took turns comparing Binjiao to badminton great Lin Dan, who is also a southpaw, Sindhu worked her way meticulously to tighten the grip over her opponent. Bingjiao, who is tipped to lead the Chinese challenge in future, had a 4-2 record against Sindhu before this match.
Ajay Jayaram Out of the race in China Open
Ajay Jayaram, however, tumbled out of the tournament losing to Chen Long of China 15-21, 14-21 in the men’s singles quarterfinals.
World No. 1 and Rio Olympics Gold Medallist Carolina Marin stunned
Meanwhile, the China Open witnessed the biggest upset as Olympic and two-time world champion Carolina Marin crashed out of the tournament losing to Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei 10-21, 20-22.
