Press Trust of India
Macau, Nov 27: Two-time defending champion PV Sindhu remained on course for retaining her women’s singles title as she reached the semifinals with a hard-fought three-game win over China’s Chen Yufei at the USD 1,20,000 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here Friday. World No. 12 Sindhu surpassed Chen 21-13, 18-21, 21-14 in a 54-minute match. Sindhu will now meet Japan’s Sayaka Sato for a place in the final. She has 2-0 record against the Japanese.
However, India’s challenge in the men’s singles ended with B Sai Praneeth and HS Prannoy losing their respective quarterfinals. Malaysia’s unseeded Goh Soon Huat defeated 15th seed Praneeth 16-21, 23-21, 13-21 in 70 minutes while Ihsan Maulana Mustofa of Indonesia accounted for Prannoy 21-18, 19-21, 11-21 in 59 minutes.
In the women’s singles, Sindhu stamped her authority early in the match as she zoomed to a 8-1 lead. However, Chen narrowed it down to 7-8 but the Indian was alert enough to soon distance herself from the Chinese, eventually pocketing the first game with a four-point burst.
In the second game, Chen showed her prowess as she opened up a narrow 5-2 lead and entered the break with an 11-7 advantage. The Chinese continued to march ahead after the interval and staved off the challenge from Sindhu, who kept breathing down her neck for most part of the game, to win it and restore parity in the match.
In the decider, fifth seed Sindhu changed gears and didn’t allow Chen to come near her as she built up a 7-3 lead initially. Chen closed down the gap at one stage to close down the gap at 12-10. But then Sindhu reeled off six points in a row to establish her command in the tie. She closed off the game and with it the match with a fine cross-court smash to book her place in the semifinals.
