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PV Sindhu beats Ratchanok Intanon to enter finals of BWF World Tour, Verma crashes out
Sindhu, who eased past Beiwen Zhang of the US in the quarter-final, moved brilliantly in the first set and even though she was stretched by Intanon held her nerve to clinch the game.
It was an epic clash between PV Sindhu and Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, but the Indian held her nerve and displayed tremendous temperament to clinch the match 21-16, 25-23 to enter the finals. She will now take on Nozomi Okuhara in the medal clash. Meanwhile, Sameer Verma had to swallow a bitter pill after squandering a match point advantage in the second game to go down 21-12, 20-22, 17-21 to All England Champion and World Championship silver medallist Shi Yuqi of China in the men’s singles semi-finals.
Sindhu, who eased past Beiwen Zhang of the US in the quarter-final, moved brilliantly in the first set and even as she was stretched by Intanon held her nerve to clinch the game. The Thai was much more controlled in the second serve and varied her pace and placement perfectly. Sindhu, was mobile and covered good ground, but had to be more precise with her cross-court smashes and net play.
“I was leading by 2-3 points but she took a lead in the end and I was making simple errors and I was nervous but I managed to be patient and fought for each point and finished on top,” Sindhu said.
“I have improved I believe. I am comparatively stronger now because earlier I used to keep thinking after losing points. It is going to be a long match. It is never easy as we know each others game and on the day we have to strategies and play our game. There has always been long rallies and we have to be patient,” added Sindhu.
The Thai attacked Sindhu’s body a lot more in the second set and this tactic worked for her in the initial stage. The down the line smashes worked nicely for Intanon, but the Indian had just enough fuel in the tank to ward off the threat and make it to the final clash.
The second game of the match was an absolute roller-coaster as both the players were not willing to cede even an inch. Intanon kept pushing, Sindhu kept saving match points and displayed tremendous composure and won the final rally, which in many ways was the best of the match, to seal the deal 25-23.
(With inputs from PTI)
