Sameer Verma vs Shi Yuqi Semi-Final, BWF World Tour Final 2018 Highlights: PV Sindhu Beats Ratchanok Intanon, Sameer Verma Loses To Shi Yuqi

PV Sindhu registered a thrilling 21-16, 25-23 win against Ratchanok Intanon to enter the final of BWF World Tour Finals 2018 while Sameer Verma crashed out of the competition after suffering a 21-12, 20-22, 17-21 defeat against Shi Yuqi in Guangzhou, China on Saturday. World No. 6 Sindhu defeated Intanon in straight games, ending the match in 54 minutes. In the first game, Sindhu got off to a solid start taking an initial 6-4 lead. Intanon tried to bounced back but eventually ended up losing the first game 16-21 in 20 minutes. In the second game, the World No. 8 gave a tough fight to Sindhu, taking it to the tie-breaker but Sindhu held on to her nerves and wrapped up the second game 25-23, eventually winning the contest. In the men's singles semi-final, Sameer Verma won the opening game against the World No. 2 but Shi Yuqi bounced back in the second game, winning it by a narrow 22-20 margin. In the third and final game, Sameer lost the momentum against the Chinese and lost the game 17-21. The women's final will be played between PV Sindhu and Nozomi Okuhara of Japan on Sunday.

Highlights Of Semi-Final Badminton Match between Sameer Verma vs Shi Yuqi, BWF World Tour 2018 Finals in Ghuabzhou, China

14:20 IST: Thank you for joining our live coverage of the match between Sameer Verma and Shi Yuqi.

Shi Yuqi has done it! Beats Sameer Verma 12-21, 22-20, 21-17 to enter the final of BWF World Tour Finals. 

14:16 IST: Brilliant smash from Shi Yuqi on that occasion as he gets to his first match point. Sameer 14-20 Shi Yuqi

14:14 IST: Another powerful smash from Shi Yuqi and a diving Sameer Verma fails to get the shuttle across the net. Sameer 13-18 Shi Yuqi

14:09 IST: Shi Yuqi is taking the game away from Sameer Verma. Third consecutive point for the World No.2 as he stretches his lead to 14-9 in the third game. 

14:08 IST: That was a beautiful cross-court smash from Shi Yuqi. Sameer Verma puts in a full-length dive but is not able to make the contact. Sameer 9-12 Shi Yuqi

14:06 IST: Another unforced error from Sameer Verma and Shi Yuqi goes into the mid-break with a crucial 11-9 lead. 

14:03 IST: Wide was the call from the line umpire and Sameer Verma has challenged it. Unsuccessful review from Sameer as the replay clearly shows that the shuttle was on the line. Sameer 7-9 Shi Yuqi

14:00 IST: Sameer Verma goes for the smash but hits it too wide on the right side. Sameer is looking in a bit of a pressure here. Sameer 4-7 Shi Yuqi

13:58 IST: Brilliant touch from Sameer Verma on that occasion as the shuttle just drops on the line. Sameer scores his first point in the third game. Sameer 1-4 Shi Yuqi

13:56 IST: Shi Yuqi has started strongly in the third game. Cross court smash from the World No. 2  and Sameer Verma had no answer for that. Sameer 0-3 Shi Yuqi

13:53 IST: Shi Yuqi collects two consecutive points and takes the second game 22-20 against Sameer Verma.

13:52 IST: Powerful smash from Shi Yuqi and it's 20-20 in the second game. 

13:49 IST: Wide on that occasion Shi Yuqi and Sameer Verma gains a crucial point. Sameer 17-18 Shi Yuqi

13:46 IST: 31 shots were played in the last rally and Shi Yuqi has the final laugh. Sameer 16-16 Shi Yuqi

13:45 IST: Another unforced error from Sameer Verma and the scores are now level at 15-15 in the second game. 

13:43 IST: That was poor from Sameer Verma. Misses a straight shot on that occasion against Shi Yuqi. Sameer 14-12 Shi Yuqi

13:40 IST: Brilliant smash from Sameer Verma to the right of Shi Yuqi. Collects his first point after the mid-break in the second game. Sameer 12-10 Shi Yuqi

13:37 IST: Seven consecutive points for Sameer Verma and as he takes the score to 10-8 against Shi Yuqi.

13:34 IST: Excellent judgement from Sameer Verma as the shuttle just falls behind the back-line. Sameer now closing in on the gap. Sameer 6-8 Shi Yuqi

13:33 IST: Wide on that occasion from Sameer Verma and Shi Yuqi extends his lead to 7-3 in the second game. 

13:31 IST: After giving away four points, Sameer Verma finally opens his account in the second game with a powerful smash. Sameer 1-4 Shi Yuqi

13:30 IST: Brilliant cross-court smash from Shi Yuqi to collect the first point in the second game. Sameer 0-1 Shi Yuqi

13:28 IST: Brilliant play from Sameer Verma on the net-line as he takes the final point to wrap up the first game 21-12 in his favour. 

13:26 IST: Sameer Verma now looking confident against Shi Yuqi. Brilliant smash on that occasion from Sameer as he takes his lead to 17-12. 

13:23 IST: Three consecutive points for Sameer Verma after the mid break. Sameer has now extended his lead to 14-10 against Shi Yuqi in the first game. 

13:21 IST: Sameer Verma collect a point with an unforced error from Shi Yuqi and now has a slender 11-10 lead at the mid-break in the first game. 

13:17 IST: Sameer Verma misses on the drop shot this time and Shi Yuqi gets ahead yet again. Sameer 7-8 Shi Yuqi

13:13 IST: Wide on that occasion from Shi Yuqi and Sameer collects another point. Shi Yuqi goes for the smash but gets it wide. Sameer 5-6 Shi Yuqi

13:11 IST: Sameer Verma opens his account in the first game. Shi Yuqi goes for the cross court but hits it too well. The shuttle goes outside the line. Sameer 1-3 Shi Yuqi

13:09 IST: Shi Yuqi with the serve and gets the first point of the match straightaway. Poor shot there from Sameer Verma. Hits it wide on the right side. Sameer 0-1 Shi Yuqi

13:00 IST: Welcome back! Sameer Verma and Shi Yuqi are out on the court for the first Men's semi-final of the day. We are just minutes away from the start! 

11:59 IST: Thank you for joining our live coverage of the Women's semi-final match between PV Sindhu and Ratchanok Intanon. Stay tuned for the Men's semi-final match between Sameer Verma vs Shi Yuqi

PV Sindhu beats Ratchanok Intanon 21-16, 25-23 to reach the final of BWF World Tour Finals 2018

11:50 IST: Back to back points for PV Sindhu as takes it her lead to 23-23 against Ratchanok Intanon.  

11:48 IST: Ratchanok Intanon gets the crucial point to make it 22-22 in the second game. 

11:47 IST: Ratchanok Intanon hits it wide this time and PV Sindhu now has a game point. Sindhu 22-21 Intanon

11:45 IST: Beautiful cross-court smash from PV Sindhu and Ratchanok Intanon had no answer to that. Sindhu makes it 20-20 in the second game. 

11:44 IST: Ratchanok Intanon misses out on that occasion. Hits it with too much power and the shuttle falls behind the back-line. Sindhu 19-18 Intanon

11:42 IST: Too wide on that occasion from Ratchanok Intanon and PV Sindhu collects to consecutive points. Sindhu 18-16 Intanon

11:39 IST: Another crucial point for Ratchanok Intanon and she is now in the lead in the second game. Fourth successive point for Intanon. Intanon 16-15 Sindhu

1:37 IST: PV Sindhu hits it wide on the left line and has yet gifted another point to Ratchanok Intanon. Sindhu 15-13 Intanon

11:35 IST: Brilliant cross-court shot from PV Sindhu and Ratchanok Intanon fails to make it in time. It's 11-11 at the moment in the second game. 

11:33 IST: Too wide on that occasion from PV Sindhu and Ratchanok Intanon goes into the mid-break with a slender 11-10 lead against Sindhu. 

11:31 IST: Unforced error from PV Sindhu and Ratchanok Intanon makes it 10-10 in the second game. 

11:30 IST: Three consecutive points for PV Sindhu. Ratchanok Intanon makes the wrong call on that occasion as the shuttle falls on the line. Sindhu 10-7 Intanon

11:27 IST: Ratchanok Intanon is giving a tough fight to Sindhu in the second game. Wins another crucial point with a drop shot. Sindhu 7-6 Intanon

11:26 IST: Brilliant smash from PV Sindhu. Extends her lead to 6-3 against Ratchanok Intanon in the second game. 

11:24 IST: Too wide on that occasion from PV Sindhu. Goes for the cross-court shot but hits it too wide. Back to back points for Ratchanok Intanon. Sindhu 4-2 Intanon

11:22 IST: Four consecutive points for PV Sindhu right at the start of the second game. Sindhu is moving brilliantly on the court at the moment. 

11:19 IST: Another unforced error from Ratchanok Intanon and PV Sindhu takes the first game 21-16. 

11:17 IST: PV Sindhu getting ahead now in the first game. Fourth successive points takes her to 19-15 lead against Ratchanok Intanon.

11:14 IST: Beautiful cross-court smash from Ratchanok Intanon and a wrong-footed PV Sindhu is unable to make the return. Sindhu 15-14 Intanon

11:13 IST: Wrong judgement on that occasion from Ratchanok Intanon and Sindhu gets back-to-back points. Sindhu 14-12 Intanon

11:11 IST: Ratchanok Intanon scores the first point after the break. Sindhu 11-10 Intanon

11:09 IST: Another unforced error from Ratchanok Intanon and PV Sindhu goes into the mid-break with a 11-9 lead. 

11:07 IST: Three consecutive points for PV Sindhu. Brilliant judgement on that occasion from Sindhu. The shuttle lands outside the back-line. It's 10-7 at the moment in favour of the Indian. 

11:05 IST: It has been a tight contest so far between the two players. Another unforced error from PV Sindhu and the scoreline in 7-7 at the moment. 

11:02 IST: Beautiful drop shot from Ratchanok Intanon. Sindhu fails to reach and Intanon makes it 4-4 in the first game.

11:01 IST: PV Sindhu makes it 2-2 with a cross court shot. Intanon fails to land the shuttle inside the line on the left side. 

10:59 IST: Ratchanok Intanon gets the first point of the match. Unforced error from the Sindhu and Intanon gets an easy point. 

10:59 IST: Ratchanok Intanon with the first serve and here we go! 

10:55 IST: PV Sindhu and Ratchanok Intanon are out on the court for the second semi-final of the day. We are minutes away from the start! 

10:50 IST: Mixed doubles pair of Wang Yilu and Huang Dongping beat Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Highashino 21-9, 19-21, 21-13 to enter the final of BWF World Tour Finals.

10:30 IST: Currently, Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Highashino of Japan are up against Wang Yilu and Huang Dongping of China in the mixed doubles semifinals. Up next is the match between PV Sindhu and Ratchanok Intanon. 

10:15 IST: PV Sindhu has been in red-hot form in the tournament so far. Sindhu finished on top in Group A with three wins. On the other hand, Ratchanok Intanon was second in Group B with two victories.

09:50 IST: Ratchanok Intanon has a 4-3 lead in her head-to-head record against PV Sindhu but the World No. 6 has not lost to her Thai opponent since 2016. Sindhu's last two wins were both in straight games against Intanon. 

09:45 IST: Nozomi Okuhara has already qualified for the final of BWF World Tour Finals after defeating compatriot Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-14.

09:30 IST: Hello and welcome to live updates of the women's singles semi-final between PV Sindhu and Ratchanok Intanon.

PV Sindhu registered her third straight win at the BWF World Tour Finals 2018 to advance through to the semi-finals of the tournament on Friday. World No.6 Sindhu eased past Beiwen Zhang of the US as she secured a comfortable 21-9, 21-15 win to face Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon. Dominating the majority of the match, Sindhu completed the win in just 35 minutes. PV Sindhu moved brilliantly on the court and used the net to her advantage as World No. 12 Zhang struggled against the Indian shuttler. With three wins, Sindhu also finished at the top of her group.

Earlier, Sindhu got off to a slow start in the first game, giving an early 4-0 lead to Zhang but then quickly recovered to make it 6-6. Sindhu, took two more points to take a slender lead for the first time in the game before taking an 11-8 lead at mid-break of the first game. Sindhu then continued with the momentum and took seven straight points to extend her lead to 18-8. Towards the end, three back-to back points helped Sindhu wrap up the first game 21-9 in just 15 minutes.

In the second game, Sindhu had a terrific start as she took an early 5-0 lead. Zhang, then showed grit and fought hard to reduce the gap to 8-9 but Sindhu eventually went into the break with a slender 11-9 lead. From 14-12, Sindhu took six consecutive points to extend her lead to 20-12 and then closed the second game 21-15 in 20 minutes to register a comfortable win.