BWF World Tour Finals Badminton 2018 | PV Sindhu vs Akane Yamaguchi

That was a comfortable second game for Sindhu after such a tight opening game. This will surely give her a lot of confidence for the rest of the group matches.

And Sindhu completes the job on her second match point.

It's a 24-22, 21-15 win for PV Sindhu in 51 minutes.

And Sindhu now has six match points!

20-14

It's 19-14 to Sindhu now

After losing eight consecutive points, Akane finally had a point of her own.

Trails 12-18

Sindhu in the driver's seat now at 16-11

Now Akane giving away cheap points.

Sindhu 13-11

Yamaguchi goes into the midgame interval with an 11-10 lead

And Akane has again wrested away the lead.

10-9

Sindhu went back in the lead.

But a 36-shot rally did Sindhu in as Akane finds a wonderful drop.

It's 8-8

And she throws in some loose play to let Sindhu back in this.

7-7

The Japanese keeps maintaining her two-point advantage.

7-5

Akane has since taken the lead

6-4

Yamaguchi keeps going for Sindhu's backhand side. With beautiful netplay, she draws level

3-3

It's 3-1 to Sindhu now.

Sindhu picks up from where she left.

Opens up a 2-0 lead in Game 2.

And Sindhu takes the opening game!

24-22

Now Akane has cracked after that miss.

Game point for Sindhu!

So much speed from both in this rally!

Yamaguchi hits it out!

22-22

And it's all level again.

21-21

Akane goes tried-and-tested crosscourt shot to Sindhu's backhand.

She has game point

21-20

Wow! Sindhu makes a service error and squandered her golden opportunity!

20-20

Sindhu's quickfooted approach and sharp angle at the net gives her the vital point here.

Game point at 20-19

And Sindhu draws level here, at 19-19

Both are now exhausted after playing the longest rally that consisted of 37 shots.

It goes Sindhu's way.

18-19

And Sindhu is finally looking to take her chances steadily.

She has come storming back to make it 17-18

Sindhu doesn't look to have any fitness issues. The rest seems to have done her a world of good. But she hasn't been able to hit through her opponent, such is the condition at this stadium.

The slower conditions need her patience and clear thinking.

What a rally! Sindhu tried to end it with a soft touch at the net but failed.

Akane up 17-13

Sindhu made it a two-point gap at 12-14 but a string break didn't help her.

12-15 now

Sindhu showing a lot more alertness on the front court.

Her improved net game has been helping her to come back.

11-14 now

Yamaguchi has taken over since then.

13-9 she leads

Another one at the net.

9-11

Sindhu is clearly more alert after the break. Showing more patience.

Gets two points on the trot.

8-11

Look at that dash to the net from Akane!

So speedy and powerful!

She is up 11-6 at the time of the midgame interval.

Finally Sindhu opens up the court and goes for down-the-line smash.

Trails 6-9

Once more attacking the Sindhu backhand early is paying Akane rich dividends.

It's 9-5 to Akane now

Finally Sindhu manages to stop the rot.

Forces Akane into an unforced error.

Trails 4-6

Yamaguchi is constantly going for crosscourt shots and attacking the Sindhu backhand.

She has gone up to 6-3 now

And she is finally coming into her own.

Goes for a sharp crosscourt dropshot.

All level now, at 3-3

The Japanese is making a couple of mistakes early on.

Still not quite settled.

Sindhu 3-1

And the match has just begun.

Sindhu makes a fine start, up 2-0

Good morning and welcome to the Sportskeeeda liveblog of PV Sindhu's first match at the BWF World Tour Finals 2018. The only Indian in women's singles faces a tough draw as she has been drawn in the same group as World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying, defending champion Akane Yamaguchi and Beiwen Zhang.

With such a packed group, Sindhu has to be at her flawless best to have any chance of qualifying for the semi-finals. Sindhu opens her campaign against the World No. 2 Yamaguchi in a rematch of the three-game final that they played last year. Going by head-to-head record, where Sindhu leads the Japanese 9-4, Yamaguchi is the easiest opponent for the Indian on paper.

Can Sindhu start off with a win?

Find it out here as we bring you the live updates from the match.

BWF World Tour Finals 2018 Badminton Live: PV Sindhu vs Akane Yamaguchi Live score & Updates | 12th December 2018