PV Sindhu in China Open Finals

(S.Ravi Seshu)

Continuing India’s rich tradition of dominating Chinese players in their own land, PV Sindhu stormed into finals of this year’s edition by defeating a better ranked player in the semi-finals on Saturday.

The seventh seed Sindhu came from behind to oust the sixth seed Ji Hyun of Korea 11-21, 23-21, 21-19 to be a step away from clinching her maiden Super Series Premier at the USD 7,00,000 tournament. The gritty Hyderabadi saved three match points in the second game.

The two-time bronze medallist in World Championships and silver medal winner in Rio Olympics, Sindhu is all set to lock horns with Sun Yu (seed-8), local favourite, in the title clash.

This is the third year in a row that an Indian woman will be in the final in China, the land of shuttle champions. Saina Nehwal had won the tournament in 2014 but remained runner up the next year. Though the injury-hit Saina lost in the first round this year, PV Sindhu is all set to compete against another Chinese for the honours.

Sindhu, who fumbled in the last tournaments after Olympics, was clueless in the opening game of the semi-finals as the Korean dominated in all departments. The neck-and-neck match saw Sindhu struggling very hard to match the offence of her opponent. Ji Hyun made it 20-17 almost sealing the Indian’s fate in the second game. Sindhu, at this crucial stage, came up with gritty strokes, including an angled drop shot before levelling the score. She roared back into the match with a powerful smash during a long rally and won it.

In the decider, Ji Hyun and Sindhu matched each other in rallies and smashes. Ji Hyun moved to a 12-10 lead but Sindhu made it 20-18. Eventually, the Indian scored a memorable win with a superb cross court smash.

Sindhu had reached maiden Super Series final at the Denmark Open last year but lost to the 2012 Olympic champion China’s Li Xuerui in straight games.