SINDHU IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS SEMIS
BEAT NOZOMI OKUHARA OF JAPAN 2117, 2119
NANJING,CHINA: PV Sindhu avenged her 2017 summit clash defeat against Nozomi Okuhara with a strong display as she overcame her Japanese rival to storm into the semifinals of the World Championships here on Friday.
Sindhu defeated Okuhara 21-17, 21-19 in a 58-minute quarterfinal match to be assured of a medal in the showpiece event. This will be Sindhu’s fourth medal at the World Championships after winning a silver (2017) and two bronze (2013, 2014). However, Saina Nehwal’s impressive run came to a disappointing end as she suffered a straight-game loss to two-time champion Carolina Marin.
Sindhu faces World No. 2 and another Japanese Akane Yamaguchi, who defeated Chinese fifth seed Chen Yufei 21-13, 17-21, 21-16, in the last four clash on Saturday in a bid to reach her second straight final. Yamaguchi had defeated Sindhu in the final of Dubai Superseries Finals in 2017.
SAINA, PRANEETH LOSE
In the Saina-marin match, it turned out to be a lop-sided contest between the 2015 edition finalists as the Spanish Olympic champion produced her ‘A’ game to complete an emphatic 21-6, 21-11 victory. A 5-4 head-tohead count meant little as Marin dismantled Saina with ease. The Spaniard stamped her authority on the match, parading the court and screaming her heart out after every point.
In the men’s quarterfinals, B Sai Praneeth was no match to Kento Momota of Japan as he lost 12-21, 12-21 in 39 minutes.
Mixed doubles pair Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also couldn’t cross the quarterfinal hurdle, losing 17-21 10-21 to top seeds Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China.
YING LOSES
World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying was knocked out in the quarterfinals as she was beaten by He Bingjiao
of China 21-18, 7-21, 21-13. After dropping the first game, Tai stormed back in the second, but was unable to maintain her momentum in the third.