PV Sindhu won her second BWF title of the season by clinching the Hylo Open on Sunday. India's ace shuttler outclassed Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt of Denmark, winning the contest in straight games, 21-12, 21-14 at Saarbrücken, Germany.
Sindhu's first title of the year was at the Japan Open in July, where the double Olympic medallist became the first Indian to triumph. It was also her first BWF Super 750 title.
Not having dropped a game through the week in the $500,000 BWF Super 500 event, after reaching the French Open final in Paris the previous week, the 31-year-old was quick off the blocks. Kjaersfeldt tried her best to test Sindhu around the corners, but time and again she lapsed into errors.
Sindhu went up 11-8, prompting the Danish opponent to play aggressively after the break. India’s former world champion was tested on her backhand as her Danish opponent tried to keep her moving side to side.
However, Sindhu held her own and took the first game 21-12. The second game saw neither opponent giving an inch, and the scoreline was locked at 2-2 early on.
Sindhu took a three-point lead from there, and the pressure was on Kjaersfeldt to come up with counterattacks. The latter did force an error from the Indian, but immediately Sindhu smashed to the right corner to again reclaim her three-point lead.
{{/usCountry}}Sindhu took a three-point lead from there, and the pressure was on Kjaersfeldt to come up with counterattacks. The latter did force an error from the Indian, but immediately Sindhu smashed to the right corner to again reclaim her three-point lead.
{{/usCountry}}At the break in the second game, the scoreline read 11-7 in favour of Sindhu. Kjaersfeldt did her best to keep Sindhu on her toes, trying to speed up play by keeping the shuttle flat. Kjaersfeldt did draw some errors from Sindhu, but struggled herself to maintain that high tempo as she made errors, and the Indian also showed her superiority.
In the end, Sindhu forced yet another error from her opponent to seal victory, raising her right hand with a clenched fist to celebrate the second title of the year.
The victory puts Sindhu in a good position to secure a berth in the year-end finals, to be held in December.