Malaysia Open 2018: PV Sindhu Beats Carolina Marin, To Play Tai Tzu Ying In Women's Singles Semi-Final

Star Indian shuttler P V Sindhu continued her impressive run at the Malaysia Open, progressing to the semifinals of the women's singles competition with a straight-game win in the USD 700,000 world tour super 750 tournament at the Bukit Jalil in Malaysia on Friday. In a clash between Olympic silver and gold medallists, it was Sindhu who emerged victories with a 22-20, 21-19 result in a 52-minute quarterfinal match against Carolina Marin. The 22-year-old Sindhu, who won a silver at the Glasgow World Championship, will face world no 1 and top seed Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying on Saturday. Third-seed Sindhu started the proceedings with a sharp smash and moved to a 3-1 lead early on but Marin clawed back. Sindhu again opened a slender two-point lead which evaporated quickly.

As has been the norm, Sindhu and Marin continued to fight it out as leads changed hands too frequently. The Indian finally grabbed a miniscule 11-10 lead at the interval after Marin failed to reach for a shot at the backline. Marin dictated the pace of the rallies to open up a 13-11 lead, celebrated every point with her usual verbal screams. Sindhu attacked her opponent's backhand to draw level this time at 14-14 and moved to lead with a smash, which Marin hit wide. Lagging 15-18, Marin stepped up the attack and grabbed five straight points to secure two game-point opportunities. A net error and a wide shot by Marin saw Sindhu claw back at 20-20. The Spaniard again hit wide and then found the net as the Indian pocketed the opening game.

The second game started in a similar fashion as Sindhu and Marin moved to 3-3 before the Indian surged to a 6-3 lead. The left-handed shuttler, however, soon levelled the score with three points as Sindhu committed a few unforced errors. At the interval, Sindhu grabbed a 11-6 advantage after reeling off five straight points, which ended with Marin hitting out.

Marin slipped on the court after the break but managed to narrow the gap to 10-13 before moving to 14-15. However, the Spaniard hit long, netted a shot and failed to reach one at the forecourt as Sindhu moved to 19-15. A solid defence saw Sindhu grab three match points. She blew two points before unleashing a cross court smash to seal the contest in 52 minutes.

(With PTI inputs)