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- P V Sindhu beat Chinese He Bingjiao 21-10, 17-21, 21-16 in the semi-finals of the Korea Open Super Series
- PV Sindhu’s final against Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara will tentatively take place on Sunday at 11 am IST.
PV Sindhu has qualified for the Korea Open Super Series final with a 21-10, 17-21, 21-16 win over sixth seeded Chinese He Bingjiao.
The Indian ace had gone into the match trailing the head to head against Bingjiao 3-5, having lost to her at the Asia Badminton Championship this year itself. On Saturday though Sindhu was visibly the stronger player on court as she closed out the match in an hour and six minutes.
Seeded fifth, she is now the highest ranked player in the women’s draw.
That, however, is not to say that the final on Sunday will be easy. It will be anything but. The Indian ace will face Japan's Nozomi Okuhara for the title in Korea, the same player who had defeated her last month in the World Championship final in Glasgow.
The Olympic bronze-medallist Japanese entered the final with a 21-17 21-18 win over World No.2 compatriot Akane Yamaguchi, seeded second.
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Sindhu vs Bingjiao
Sindhu made a rampaging start to the opening game as she rushed to a 9-1 advantage before moving into the break at 11-4 when the left-handed Chinese hit out.
Sindhu made a few unforced errors but she didn't let it derail her game as she moved to a 10-point advantage and sealed it when Bingjiao once again hit out.
In the second game, Sindhu and Bingjiao were tied 4-4 initially but the Indian once again clinched a five-point advantage at the break when she unleashed a body smash and then Bingjiao hit out again.
But unforced errors by Sindhu and Bingjiao's resilience helped the Chinese slowly erase the deficit and make it 10-13.
Sindhu tried to engage her opponent in fast rallies but Bingjiao managed to claw back at 15-15 with a precise straight down-the-line smash.
Sindhu suddenly hit a bad patch as two wide shots and one of her returns were buried in the net, giving the Chinese a 20-16 advantage. A deceiving return on Bingjiao's serve saw Sindhu save a game point but the Chinese sealed it next when the Indian found the net again.
The decider saw the longest and quickest rallies as both the shutters looked to outwit each other. Sindhu managed to lead 7-4 and 9-6 before Bingjiao clawed back with three straight points.
However, two wide shots once again spoilt Bingjiao's run as Sindhu held the advantage for the third time at the interval.
The script didn't change much after the break as Sindhu continued to lead even as Bingjiao struggled with her length and ended up sending the shuttle wide and long.
Sindhu moved to a 19-15 lead before Bingjiao produced a powerful smash to gather a point but the Indian was in no mood to stretch it any further as she moved to the match point when Bingjiao hit wide again.
The Indian then sealed the issue with a lucky net chord.
(With inputs from PTI)
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