PV Sindhu Storms Into Macau Open Badminton Semis; Men Crash Out
PV Sindhu is two wins away from her first major trophy this season. She has been in good form in Macau Open badminton this week.
PV Sindhu has entered the semifinal of the Macau Open badminton championship. In a quarterfinal match on Friday, the fifth-seeded India got the better of unseeded Chen Yufei of China 21-13, 18-21, 21-14. Sindhu will clash with second seed Akane Yamaguchi in the semi-finals on Saturday. (Click here for latest Badminton stories)
This was the first meeting between Sindhu and Yufei. The Indian was off to a flashy start. After a 4-0 lead, Sindhu never looked back. But for a brief recovery by Yufei (7-9), Sindhu steadily built her lead to win the first game in 16 minutes.
Yufei staged a comeback in the second game. She maintained a steady lead from the start and although Sindhu saved three game points, the Chinese girl prevailed to draw level.
Sindhu was certainly the better player on court. She used her better reach to take early control (7-3) and with a six-point lead at 12-6, it was always going to be tough for Yufei. Sindhu won in 54 minutes.
Praneeth, Prannoy Lose
In men's singles, India's B Sai Praneeth lost to Malaysia's Goh Soon Huat. Sai lost 16-21, 23-21, 13-21 in a hard-fought quarterfinal clash.
Indonesia's Ihsan Maulana Mustofa upset India's HS Prannoy in another men's singles quarterfinal contest. The 16th seed Mustofa got the better of seventh seed India 18-21, 21-19, 21-11 in a match that lasted an hour.
That leaves Sindhu as the only Indian in the tournament.