PV Sindhu Qualifies for Thailand Open 2018 Badminton Final, to Face Japan's Nozomi Okuhara
PV Sindhu will face Okuhara for the 11th time. Thus far, the head-to-head record between the two is tied at five each.
India’s ace shuttler PV Sindhu on Saturday qualified for the Thailand Open 2018 final after registering a 23-21 16-21 21-9 win over her Indonesian opponent Gregoria Mariska in the women’s singles semifinal at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok. The Rio Olympics silver medallist lost the second game but then bounced back to clinch the contest which lasted for an hour.
Sindhu will now face Japanese Nozomi Okuhara in the final on Sunday.
Sindhu had to fight hard to outplay her opponent in the first game. It turned out to be a close one as the Indian prevailed 23-21. The Indian shuttler, however, failed to keep the momentum going and lost the second game 16-21 despite going into the lead at the beginning.
In the final game, Sindhu dished out the knockout punch and looked at her usual best as she hammered the Indonesian 21-9, thus making it to the final of the Thailand Open 2018. The win was Sindhu’s third consecutive over Gregoria Mariska in as many matches.
The final now pits Sindhu against Okuhara, who defeated Beiwen Zhang of the US in straight sets 21-17, 21-10 to progress to the final of BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament. Meanwhile, Sindhu will face Okuhara for the 11th time. Thus far, the head-to-head record between the two is tied at five each. Sindhu though comes into the contest with a win over her at the All England Open quarterfinals in March this year.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 14, 2018 05:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).