This was being called a ‘revenge match’, and revenge PV Sindhu did take. The fifth-seeded Indian defeated her victor from last month’s World Championships, Nozomi Okuhara, to bag her first-ever Korea Open Super Series title.
Sindhu bagged the title with a scoreline of 22-20, 11-21, 21-18, and in the process also became the first-ever Indian to win the Korea Open title.
Read: PV Sindhu and Nozomi Okuhara Set Up Another Rivalry For the Ages
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Despite being a match between the fifth and eighth seeded players, the women’s singles final at the Korea Open was possibly the most anticipated fixture at the event on 17 September. Sindhu had lost an epic three-game final to Okuhara at the World Championships just three weeks ago, and well, all fans tuned in to see if the Japanese could pull off a victory once again.
An hour and 50 minutes after the first point was played, Sindhu was waving to the packed arena. Here as well, the summit clash was fought over three tough sets as Sindhu displayed great stubbornness to lay claim to the third Super Series title of her career.
World no 4 Sindhu – who had clinched the 2016 China Super Series Premier, India Open Super Series, and the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold this season – dashed Okuhara's bid to win her third straight title after winning the Australian Open and the World Championships.
The win also helped Sindhu to level her head-to-head record against Okuhara, making it 4-4 in eight meetings
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Sindhu vs Okuhara
Sindhu led 2-0 early in the first game but Okuhara was quick to erase the deficit. The Indian once again moved to a 5-3 advantage with Okuhara committing unforced errors. The first glimpse of the epic World Championship final was visible when they had a long rally at 6-5 which Sindhu won with a straight smash.
However, the Indian lost the advantage when Okuhara reeled off four points, showing her prowess to fight back to grab a 9-7 lead. A smash at Okuhara's backhand helped Sindhu make it 9-9 but the Japanese ensured that she has the advantage at 11-9.
Sindhu played an attacking rally and sealed it with a smash at 9-12. In fact, she grabbed five of the next eight points after the break to turn the tables at 14-13.
Sindhu once again dished out another intense rally and produced a precise over head smash to lead 15-14. The duo kept fighting and in another thrilling rally, Sindhu had to resort to continuous smashes before Okuhara finally sent one to the net to make it 17-17.
A simple return going to net made Sindhu hung her face in frustration. Then, the Indian went wide and long to hand over two game point opportunities to Okuhara.
The Japanese, however, could not make use of the chances as her backhand flick near the net went wide and then she made an error in judgement at the baseline to allow Sindhu claw back at 20-20.
Sindhu walked away with the opening game that lasted 28 minutes when Okuhara sent a return serve to the net and then saw the shuttle sail over the baseline.
World no. 7 Okuhara made a roaring comeback in the second game after Sindhu got buried in a heap of unforced errors.
Right from the first stroke when she smashed long, Sindhu continued to struggle with her length and precision even as Okuhara grabbed the shuttle early to dominate the proceedings of the second game completely.
The Olympic bronze medallist Japanese led 11-6 at the break and continued to extend her lead with Sindhu struggling with her strokes. In fact, it looked like the Indian had given up the fight as Okuhara took the match to the decider when Sindhu's return got buried at the net once again.
In the decider, Sindhu, who looked a tad dispirited in the second game, got her bearings right as she once again led 11-5 at the break when Okuhara went wide. The rallies continued to get fiercer as the duo battled hard for each point. Okuhara displayed tremendous defensive skills and tight net play to reduce the deficit to 16-18.
Sindhu was then left lying on the floor after another physically and mentally draining rally which the Indian won after Okuhara found the net. A tired looking shot went to net but Sindhu produced a good net return to have three match points at 20-17.
Sindhu could not reach the forecourt after another rally as Okuhara saved a match point but the Japanese sent the shuttle wide next as the Indian sealed the match and lifted her arms in celebration.
(With inputs from PTI)
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