After 7 days of pulsating action, we are down to the last two in the Women’s Singles badminton at the 2016 Rio Olympics. India’s PV Sindhu and Spain’s Carolina Marin will fight it out for top honours later today at the Court 1 of the Rio Centro Pavillion, and it is expected to be a cracker of a contest between two very skilful players.
PV Sindhu
While Sindhu has in the past shown that she has the ability to raise her game at big events, few expected her to shine and rise above heavyweights like Li Xuerui, Wang Yihan and Saina Nehwal at this Olympics. But with a game that has seen a mixture of smashes and drop shots, the 21-year-old has marched her way into the finale, beating three players ranked inside the top 10 on the way.
Along with her always dangerous offensive play, it has been Sindhu’s defense that has shown tremendous improvement ever since she last played at the Australian Open in June.
There was never any questions over Sindhu’s talent or potential; it was always about whether or not she can attain consistency and beat the top players on a more regular basis. During the course of this week, she has beaten the World No. 8 Tzu Ying Tai in the Round of 16, World No. 2 Wang Yihan in the quarterfinal and then World No. 6 Nozomi Okuhara – in perhaps her best performance of the competition – in the semifinals.
Those exploits now mean that she is on the cusp of history. Another win over the World No. 1 Carolina Marin on Friday would forever put her name into the history books along with several other Indian sporting greats.
Road to the final
| Name | Scoreline |
| Laura Sarosi | 21-8 21-9 |
| Michelle Li | 19-21 21-15 21-17 |
| Tzu Ying Tai | 21-13 21-15 |
| Wang Yihan | 22-20 21-19 |
| Nozomi Okuhara | 21-19 21-10 |
Carolina Marin
Standing between Sindhu and the gold medal on Friday will be an opponent who has tasted a lot of success in big events in the past 18 months. Carolina Marin of Spain is the reigning two-time World champion, a former All England champion and a three-time Superseries champion.
If there is a player who has shown that she brings her A-game to the fore and delivers in a final, it is Marin. The 23-year-old, who first burst on to the scene in 2009 at the European Junior World Championships, has gone from strength to strength, particularly since winning the World Championships in 2014. She will now look to become the 1st ever Women’s shuttler from Europe to win the gold at an Olympics.
Marin will pose a different challenge to Sindhu with her left-handed angles. Among all the opponents that Sindhu has faced thus far, it is the Spaniard’s defense that is likely to test the Indian the most.
Hence, a tactic that could help Sindhu more than usual is employing the down-the-line and cross-court smash liberally, which would make the Spaniard stretch on either side of the court.
Whether Marin be able to counter that offensive tactic is a question whose answer we will know soon.
Road to the Final
| Name | Scoreline |
| Nanna Vainio | 21-6 21-4 |
Line Kjaersfeldt | 21-16 21-13 |
| Sung Ji Hyun | 21-12 21-16 |
| Li Xuerui | 21-14 21-16 |
Match up: PV Sindhu vs Carolina Marin
Time: 6:55 P.M. IST
TV Details: Star Sports2/HD2, 3/HD3, hotstar.com and DD National
