History has been made as PV Sindhu has become the first ever Indian shuttler to enter the final at the Olympics. She achieved the feat by beating Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 21-19 21-10 in the semifinal here on Thursday.
Sindhu played some of the best badminton of her career, mixing offense and defense expertly, to subdue an opponent who had held a 4-0 lead in the head-to-head before this match. By the end the Indian was tugging her opponent all over the court and dictating the rallies completely, putting an exclamation mark to what was a sensational performance on the biggest stage in badminton.
The opening game saw both players employ the net a lot, but it was the Indian who took control from the 3-1 mark, winning points on a regular basis before eventually leading 11-6 at the break. The other end of the break saw Okuhara make a few mistakes at the net and Sindhu combined her smashes with some excellent drop shots. In a tight end to the game, the Indian edge Okuhara 21-19 to establish her ascendancy.
The second game began on a similar note as the first, as the Japanese made errors at the net and Sindhu continued to play an impeccable game from all corners of the court. She went 11-10 up at the break and after that brought out her ruthless side, demolishing the sixth seed with a whopping 10 consecutive points. That knocked the stuffing out of Okuhara's game and handed the match to Sindhu comfortably, clearing her path to her maiden Olympics final.
It has been an absolutely wonderful ride for the Indian in Rio as she has now defeated three players inside the top 10 to enter the summit clash. Tzu Ying Tai was brushed off in the Round of 16, and Wang Yihan was overcome after a testing encounter in the quarterfinal. Now, Okuhara has been beaten fair and square in the semifinal, indicating that the Indian will be quite a handful in the gold medal match tomorrow.
The reigning World champion Carolina Marin awaits the Indian in the final, which will be played on Friday. The match is schedule to begin at 7.30 p.m. IST, and it goes without saying that a billion eyes will be on Sindhu as she takes the court for the biggest match of her – or any Indian shuttler's – career.
