Sindhu struggles against Mitani, enters semi-finals
Indian ace wins the decider after Japanese pockets the second game
PV Sindhu defeated Minatsu Mitani 21-19, 16-21, 21-10 to enter the semi-finals of the Korea Open Superseries being held in Seoul. Sindhu raced to an early 5-2 lead in the first game, but Mitani fought back, managing to take an 11-9 lead at the break.
The back and forth nature of the match continued after the break, with neither player managing to take a convincing lead. Sindhu eventually found her rhythm and edged her Japanese opponent 21-19 in the first game.
Mitani started the second game well, taking a 5-1 lead and pushing Sindhu on the back foot. Sindhu then won a flurry of points and took an 11-9 lead going into the break.
But the Indian ended up losing the game. Sindhu was forced onto the backcourt as Mitani dominated the net.
Sindhu came out all guns blazing in the third game, although Mitani’s unforced errors certainly helped. She took an early 6-2 lead before entering the break with a formidable 11-3 lead.
Mitani did manage to reduce the deficit to six points just after the break, but Sindhu maintained her composure and won the final game 21-10 to enter the semi-finals.
SAMEER VERMA EXITS
Sameer Verma’s campaign at the Korea Open came to an end after he lost to World No 1 Son Wan-Ho of Korea 20-22, 21-10, 21-13 in the quarter-finals. Sameer started the match well, fighting hard to win the first game. However, Son Wan-Ho easily won the next two games to move into the semi-finals. Son Wan-Ho had previously beaten Parupalli Kashyap to enter the quarter-finals.
BWF RANKINGS
Shuttlers Sai Praneeth and Sameer Verma improved a rung each to reach the 16th and 25th spots respectively in the latest BWF ranking. Ajay Jayaram, who skipped the ongoing Korea Open, slipped a place to be at 17th. Kidambi Srikanth remains the best placed Indian men at eighth spot, while H S Prannoy also was static at the 18th position.