Finals girl

Vinayak Padmadeo

Tribune News Service

Jakarta, August 27

PV Sindhu is one step away from making history. After breaking the 36-year-old wait for an individual medal along with Saina Nehwal, she went a step further as she defeated Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the women’s badminton semifinals. Sindhu beat the world No. 2 Japanese 21-17 15-21 21-10 to enter the final and ensure at least a silver medal. She will take on world No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying from Chinese Taipei, who tamed Saina Nehwal in the first semifinal.

Sindhu won the first game on a canter and then conceded the second despite taking the lead, before finishing off her opponent in the third. Sindhu started slowly against Yamaguchi, who likes to play extended rallies, but started to win points to open up a lead of 11-8. The lead went up to 17-12 then to 20-17. The game was won as Yamaguchi hit a smash wide.

Sindhu started in the same vain in the second game and opened up a sizable lead of 10-6. But few errors from her racquet to go with lucky net points for the Japanese had her looking perplexed. Yamaguchi in fact won six points in a row to take the lead in the match. Yamaguchi won four points in a row again to extend the lead to 16-13. The lead went up to 18-15 and she closed out the game with three straight points.

But things were different in the deciding game as Sindhu upped the aggressive quotient in her game. Sindhu first led 4-3 and then extended it to 7-3. The intent was very clear from the start, to avoid long rallies. Sindhu then further extended the lead to 10-5. The errors then started to creep into Yamaguchi’s game and Sindhu closed out the match at 10-21.

“It was a good game. I was prepared for a long match as Yamaguchi plays long rallies,” Sindhu said later. Sindhu, who has a five-match losing streak against Tai Tzu-ying, said the final will be a tough affair. “It is not an easy match. You can’t expect it to be an easy match. I hope I do well. There will be some strategy against her but you have to give your best. I am hoping to get the gold and I will try to give my best,” she said.

Saina fades

The hopes of an all-Indian final were dashed in the first semifinal as Saina was well beaten by Tai Tzu-ying 21-17 21-14. Saina had to use every ounce of her energy and experience just to keep herself in the match. Tzu-ying’s superior net play, her deceptive drops had Sania under extreme pressure early on. The Chinese Taipei shuttler was off the blocks quickly racing to a 5-1 lead in the first game. Saina drew level at 8-8 and then 10-10 after a crosscourt smash.

But every time Saina brought the lead down, Tzu-ying would break free. She won four straight points after the break to race to a 15-10 lead. She fought back to make it 15-16 as Tzu-ying’s smash went wide. But then three straight points made it 19-16 and she closed out the first set after Saina hit a return long.

The story was similar in the second game. Tzu-ying raced to a 3-0 lead and then 5-1. Saina closed the gap and drew level at 6-6 with a down-the-line smash. Tzu-ying then went ahead with another three points to lead 10-7. But Saina hit back with a few deft touches at the net which was followed by a crosscourt smash to draw level. She even went to lead for the first time at 13-12. But Tzu-ying ended her resistance to win the contest 21-14.

“If I played well, she played even better. She was all over, even picked difficult shots. You can’t take anything for granted with her. I tried as much as I could. After 14-14, I was surprised, those 2-3 errors cost me in the second set and at 17-14 the points went really fast,” said Saina after her loss. “She has a complete game where you don’t know where to play her and where to get the points, I was really confused there. It’s not like that you can’t beat her. It’s not impossible. You have to have a complete game because she has those deceptive shots to come out of difficult situations.”

Saina said her opponent was pure quality. “She is someone who is not easy to read. Not all the coaches can read her. As a player I have tried to read but she comes up with a new shot,” she said.