New Delhi: Rio Olympics silver medalist P.V Sindhu survived a tough test in the quarterfinal match against her senior and former World No. 1 Saina Nehwal, coming from behind to beat Nehwal 21-16, 22-20 in 47 minutes on Friday.
A huge home crowd had gathered at the Siri Fort Complex to witness the two Indian shuttlers going at each other and supporter for both sides were chanting “Saina! Saina!” together with equally loud “Sindhu! Sindhu!”
Sindhu took the first game relatively easily, but was on the verge of losing the second set when she trailed 16-19. The Olympic silver medalist suddenly became more aggressive near the end of the second set, and caught Nehwal totally by surprise. Sindhu was then able to narrow the gap and eventually overcame Nehwal in the fiercely contested women’s singles quarter-final. She will meet No. 2 seed Sung Ji Hyun of Korea in the semi-finals.
Women’s singles No. 1 seed Carolina Marin was also given a stern test by Japan’s Minatsu Mitani, needed 57 minutes to fight off the Japanese 21-10, 20-22, 21-14 to set up a semi-final showdown with No. 4 seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.
In women’s doubles, No. 1 seeds Jung Kyung Eun/Shin Seung Chan of Korea will play No. 7 seeds Shiho Tanaka/Koharu Yonemoto of Japan in the top half, while No. 3 seeds Naoko Fukuman/Kurumi Yonao will take on compatriots Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota in other women’s doubles semi-finals.
