Korea Open: PV Sindhu creates two landmarks for India with final win over Nozomi Okuhara

Sindhu won her third Superseries title with Sunday's win
Sindhu won her third Superseries title with Sunday's win

India's PV Sindhu faced off against Japan's Nozomi Okuhara for the second time in three weeks and this time around, it would prove to be a sweet victory for the 22-year-old as she outlasted Okuhara in another mammoth final.

Their previous meeting was an epic one -- the World Championships final and it was the Japanese who took home the gold medal back in August. On Sunday again, the intensity levels were high and the match was filled with long, incredible rallies. But this time, the result was different as Sindhu clinched the final, with the score reading 22-20, 11-21, 21-18.

With this win, the Indian recorded her third Superseries crown in her career and the second this year. Her previous ones came at the China Open in 2016, where she overcame local favourite Sun Yu 21-11, 17-21, 21-11 and at home at the India Open earlier in 2017, defeating Carolina Marin in the summit clash.

First Indian to win Korea Open

This was the 26th edition of the Korea Open, with the first being played in 1991 and the 1998 tournament being cancelled due to the economic situation in the country. And for the first time in the history of the event, an Indian has now gone on to win the title.

It was Japanese Akane Yamaguchi who was the defending champion from 2016 and it could have been two titles for the nation in a row had it not been for Sindhu.

In the men's singles, it was Anthony Ginting who won the title for Indonesia, ending a 22-year wait for his nation as well, where it was Heryanto Arbi, who won the title in 1995.

Also read: Korea Open: PV Sindhu creates new record for India with semifinal win over He Bingjiao

India leads charts in Super Series singles titles

Sindhu's win in the semifinal on Saturday ensured that India led the charts when it came to Super Series finalists this year, as out of the 28 finalists in the seven Super Series singles events so far, six have been Indians.

With her title win, she clinched India's fifth singles Superseries title this year, which is the highest for any nation so far. In second place is Chinese Taipei, thanks to Tai Tzu Ying's three wins. This is also India's highest tally of titles in a calendar yea

Here's how the standings look like:


India (5 - PV Sindhu x 2, Srikanth K x 2, Sai Praneeth)

Chinese Taipei (3 - Tai Tzu Ying x 3)

Japan (2 - Nozomi Okuhara, Sayaka Sato)

Denmark (1 - Viktor Axelsen)

China (1 - Lin Dan)

Malaysia (1 - Lee Chong Wei)

Indonesia (1 - Anthony Ginting)

Also read: Twitter erupts after PV Sindhu and Nozomi Okuhara play a 56-shot rally in Korea Open final

Quick Links