Sweet revenge Pune put paid to 2-4 defeat in their away match at Fatorda ground in Goa
event and the top two from each group will qualify for the semifinals, after which a knockout draw will be conducted.
Sindhu, who will be making her third successive appearance at the tournament, have a 9-4 head-to-head record against Yamaguchi but she has lost four times to the Japanese in five meetings this season.
The 23-year-old from Hyderabad also have found the going tough against Asian Games Champion Tai Tzu Ying, who has beaten her in all their last six encounters. The last time Sindhu defeated Tzu Ying was at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Against Zhang, Sindhu has a 3-3 head-to-head record but the Indian has lost twice in the last three meetings, which included a final defeat at the India Open World Tour Super 500 tournament in New Delhi.
Sindhu has exuded confidence ahead of the tournament, saying she would be in top form after getting enough time to put in the hard yards. Hosts FC Pune City continued with their resurgence as they produced a spirited display to register a 2-0 win over FC Goa in a Hero Indian Super League clash at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium on Tuesday.
A terrific strike from Marcelinho in the 74th minute and a late penalty from Marko Stankovic (90+4’) separated the two sides as Pune kept consecutive clean sheets.
With only one point from three previous games, FC Goa’s struggles after the international break in November continued and they find themselves in the fourth spot with 17 points. Pune, meanwhile, have climbed to the seventh spot with their second consecutive win, and more importantly avenged their 2-4 hammering in Goa when interim coach Pradyum Reddy had just taken charge.
I-League: Kashmir win
Srinagar: Abednedo Kofi struck twice as debutnats Real Kashmir FC hammered Shillong Lajong FC 6-1 to jump to the third spot in the Hero I-League, here on Tuesday as their run of six continuous home matches came to a roaring end. With their fourth win out of seven games, Kashmir soared to third on the points table, level with second-placed Churchill Brothers on points but a tad behind on goal difference.Kashmir's goals were scored by Ghanaian forward Kofi, Mason Robertson, Nagen Tamang, Gnohere Krizo and Surchandra Singh. Samuel Lyngdoh scored thelone goal for Shillong.