PV Sindhu Beats 2nd Seed Sung Ji Hyun To Enter Maiden India Open Final
PV Sindhu won in three games to enter the women's singles final at the India Open Superseries for the first time
Highlights
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PV Sindhu is an Olympic silver medallist which she won in Rio 2016
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This is her maiden India Open women's singles final
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She will take on reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin next
PV Sindhu came out with her best game to defeat South Korean second seed Sung Ji Hyun 21-18, 14-21, 21-14 to enter her maiden women's singles final at the $325,000 India Open Superseries on Saturday. The third seeded Indian needed one hour and 16 minutes to move past the World No.4 to enter the summit clash where the World No.5 will take on arch-rival and top seed Carolina Marin of Spain at the Siri Fort Sports Complex on Sunday.
Sindhu delivered a scintillating performance to thrill the packed stadium which was chanting her name throughout the marathon contest, which also turned out to be the last match of the day.
After winning a closely contested first game, Sung found her feet in the second game to easily win several points and push the match into the decider.
However, Sindhu turned the tables on Sung in the third game and led from start to finish to book her berth in the final.
With the win, Sindhu extended her record to 7-4 against the South Korean. It was sweet revenge for the Hyderabadi, who lost their previous encounter in three games at the Dubai World Superseries Finals in December 2016.
Sindhu has a 3-5 record against her next opponent Carolina, who she lost to during the famous 2016 Rio Olympics final. However, the Indian came out on top in their last meet in Dubai with the 21-year-old Sindhu winning in straight games.
Earlier, two-time World Champion Carolina defeated Japan's Akane Yamaguchi, seeded fourth, 21-16 21-14 in an easy contest to reach the final.
Only Kidambi Srikanth (men's singles) and Saina Nehwal (women's singles) have won the India Open ever since it became part of the BWF World Superseries calendar.
Sindhu has bagged one title in 2017 so far -- the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold which she won in Lucknow in January. This is her chance to win her second crown of the year and the second Superseries tournament of her career after clinching the prestigious China Open Superseries Premier in November 2016.