In one of the most pulsating matches of Rio 2016, India’s PV Sindhu progressed through to the semi-final of the Women’s Singles event, after beating second seed Wang Yihan 22-20 21-19 on Tuesday. This means the 21-year-old Indian is on the verge of becoming India’s first medallist of 2016 – if she wins either of her next two matches, she will have guaranteed a medal.
The opening game of today’s match saw Yihan get off the blocks faster, as she took a 3-1 lead. But Sindhu came back to cut the lead to 1 and at all points ensured the gap between points did not go beyond that mark.
The Indian’s defense was once again exceptional but it was Yihan who went into the break 11-8 up. Sindhu returned after the break with much more verve, clinching 3 out of the next 4 points to make it 14-14, before going on to take the lead at 15-14. But the World No. 2 came back to level the score soon after.
The key juncture in the game came at the 19-19 mark, when Sindhu clinched the point to go 20-19 up. But Yihan wasn’t ready to give up so soon and equalized immediately. The Indian, however, regained the lead and this time converted to take the opening game 22-20.
In the second game, Sindhu displayed some of her trademark badminton, mixing precise crosscourt shots with fierce smashes. She led 8-3 at one point before going 11-8 in front at the break.
After the interval, the dominance continued, but only until the 18-13 mark. Yihan then won six points straight to make it 19-18, sending jitters into the Indian camp. But Sindhu remained calm and closed the game 21-19 to make it through to her maiden Olympics semifinal.
She will now play Nozomi Okuhara in the semifinal, which is scheduled to take place on 18th August at 5.50 p.m. IST.
