Bangkok: Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu took a three-match win over the world’s No. 1 Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi to reach the semifinals of the Thailand Open Super 500 tournament here on Friday.
The sixth-seeded Indian defeated the second-seeded Japanese 21-15 20-22 21-13 in 51 minutes to set up a clash with Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei of China.
The last time the duo played, the match was marred by controversy, with Sindhu being penalized a point by the referee for slowing down tactics during the match. Badminton Asia Championships semi-finals.
Sindhu entered the game with a 13-9 head-to-head record and again put in a fine performance to take home her 14th win over the reigning world champion.
Nothing separated the two in the early stages with Sindhu relying on her cross-court slices and drops to trouble Yamaguchi, who forfeited a three-point lead to let the Indian go to an 11-9 break.
Yamaguchi took five match points, only for Sindhu to return the favor with seven straight points to take a 19-14 lead.
However, Sindhu steered the shuttle long before going to five game points and sealed when an unbalanced Yamaguchi sent the shuttle back to the net.
Yamaguchi looked a little passive as her moves were not smooth and the game erratic, allowing Sindhu to jump to an 11-5 lead at halftime after taking 10 of the last 11 points without much ado.
Sindhu smashed her rival’s backhand and then followed it up with another cross court return to rack up a lot of points.
After the break, Sindhu was called up for a service foul and soon Yamaguchi fought her way to 11-13 before going long. The Japanese played some good shots to claw back at 16-16.
A quick smash and a precise return on the line gave the Japanese two game points. Sindhu saved two, but faltered on her serve and then sent the shuttle as long as the game went to the decider.
Sindhu counterfeited in the mid-game with a six-point lead in the third game. Yamaguchi appeared to be having back pain, which affected her stroke play.
Sindhu led 15-11 when Yamaguchi made mistakes on her return to serve. The Indian soon unleashed her smashes and another punch clear gave her eight match points, which she converted on the second attempt.
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