Glasgow: PV Sindhu completed a hat-trick of medals at the World Badminton Championships as she stormed into the semifinals, lifting India’s spirit after Kidambi Srikanth’s quarterfinal exit here Friday.
Sindhu assured herself of at least a bronze with a clinical display against World No.6 Chinese Sun Yu 21-14, 21-9 in a match that lasted 39 minutes. The 22-year-old Sindhu had earlier won bronze in the 2013 and 2014 editions of the event.
“I am very happy with the performance. She is not an easy player. I just went into the court and gave my best and it went on well,” Sindhu said after her match. “Last time I lost to her in Dubai. It was not easy even though I was leading, each point was important. I was never over confident, I just tried to maintain the lead,” she added.
The World No.4 Indian will next take on another Chinese – World No.10 Chen Yufei, who saw off former World Champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.
Earlier, Srikanth went down fighting 14-21, 18-21 to World No.1 Son Wan Ho of Korea in the men’s singles. After losing the first game easily, Srikanth was down 5-16 in the second. It then looked all over for the Indian. However, Srikanth conjured up a stunning recovery to reduce the gap to 18-19 before two backhand errors at the net cost him the match and ended his medal dreams.
“I am disappointed. I couldn’t play my game today. I made too many mistakes. But credit to him for playing so well and for not letting me get back into the match,” Srikanth said after the 49-minute encounter.
Sindhu dished out an aggressive game and never looked in doubt as she led from start to finish during the match. Sun, on the other hand, looked out of sorts and nervous.
In the first game, Sindhu led 5-4, which she extended to 8-4. The duo then engaged in one of the longest rallies that had 39 shots. Sindhu eventually sealed it with a half cross-court smash and quickly grabbed an 11-4 lead at the break.
It soon became 15-5 as Sindhu outwitted the Chinese by controlling the pace of the game. Sun reduced the margin to 10-16 but Sindhu eventually earned seven game points with a smart return at the forecourt that left her opponent stranded. She then won the first game with a lovely drop shot.
The second game started with another long rally which Sindhu won with a body smash. The Indian continued to pile on the pressure to lead 11-4 at the interval.
The breather didn’t bring any respite for Sun as Sindhu moved to 18-8. Frustration was clear on the face of Sun, who tried her bit to upstage the Indian but Sindhu seemed to have all the answers as she reached 11 match points with a low cross court- flick. She sealed the contest when Sun went long once again.
Press Trust of India
