India’s PV Sindhu progressed through to the Round of 16 stage at the 2016 Rio Olympics, after beating Michelle Li 19-21 21-15 21-17 in her second Group M match on Sunday.
The opening game saw a very.very tight affair as both players went head-on, matching one another point for point but at the 8-8 mark, it was the Indian who stepped up her game to go 11-10 up at the break.
After the break, the Canadian made a strong comeback into proceedings, pegging Sindhu back with a range of crosscourt shots that caught the India napping and at the 16-16 mark, won 5 out of the next 8 points to win the game 21-19.
The second game saw a similar pattern unfold and once it was Sindhu, who held the upper hand at the break, leading 11-8 at the break.Unlike in the opening game, the 21-year-old didn't let go of her advantage this time and marched he way through a combination down the line and crosscourt smashes to win the game 21-15.
Sindhu carried the momentum from Game 2 into the decider, clinching the advantage from the 5-5 mark and leading 11-7 at the break. She left Li with a lot of ponder over post interval as well and eventually won the game 21-17 to progress through to the Round of 16 in her maiden Olympics.
Final Scoreline: PV Sindhu beat Michelle Li 19-21 21-15 21-17
