There is saying in every walk of life,” Write off champions at your own peril”. The words of that saying were proven right once again on Saturday evening when the world witnessed a champion rise and show to everybody what she was truly made off.
After enduring a tough first half of the year, PV Sindhu reached the quarterfinals of Badminton World Championships, a performance that didn't meet the high standards that she had set in the earlier two editions. But it was perhaps what she needed at that moment, Just the confidence that she can do well on the global stage despite having suffered a stress fracture earlier, that forced her to withdraw from the All England Open.
Heading into the Denmark Open Superseries Premier, not a lot of the talk surrounded her. The Men’s draw was a lot tighter, Saina Nehwal was playing her first competition in a month so were Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa.
But in a quiet manner, Sindhu was playing all the right tunes, beating the third seed Tzu Ying Tai in the second round, defeating Wang Yihan, a nemesis of Saina, in very impressive fashion and then capturing the biggest fish of them all, World champion Carolina Marin in an outstanding display of grit, patience and never-say-die attitude to book a place in the final.
On Sunday, she will be up against Li Xuerui, an opponent she defeated at the World Championships in the third round. Another factor to take into account is that Sindhu has reached this far after emerging from a much tougher draw, and so will be a lot more confident mentally.
Regardless, it promises to be an absolutely cracking contest on Sunday and you make sure you keep yourself free to catch it.
Final Details:
Match: PV Sindhu vs Li Xuerui
Time: At around 6 P.M
Television details: Star Sports 4
Prediction: Having emerged from a much tougher and also beaten the World champion Carolina Marin, PV Sindhu certainly has the edge and should win three games.
