Sindhu gives up fight against Okuhara in semifinals

Singapore, April 13

PV Sindhu looked woefully out of form as she surrendered without a fight to former world champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the women’s singles semifinals at the Singapore Open badminton tournament. Sindhu lost 7-21 11-21 to world No. 3 Okuhara in a lopsided contest. Sindhu looked completely out of sorts as she surrendered the first game in just 15 minutes after a series of unforced errors, mainly at the net and sidelines.

In the second game, Sindhu lagged 1-3 but recovered to make it 4-4. Okuhara then changed the pace of the rallies and gathered six straight points, which included two precise lifts at the backline and also a prompt net return. The Japanese led 11-5 at the interval. Okuhara kept the pressure on Sindhu and eventually a round-the-head crosscourt return took her to 18-8. Four wide shots delayed the inevitable before Okuhara grabbed nine match points with another superb crosscourt smash. With another crosscourt return, Okuhara sealed her place in the final.

In the final, Okuhara will face world No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei, who saved five match points in the second game before taking it 24-22 and sending the clash into the decider. She won 15-21 24-22 21-19 in a 57-minute clash to enter the finals. — PTI

SINGAPORE OPEN

• Women’s Singles: Tai Tzu Ying bt Akane Yamaguchi 15-21 24-22 21-19, Nozomi Okuhara bt PV Sindhu 21-7 21-11
• Men’s Singles: AS Ginting bt Chou Tien Chen 21-17 18-21 21-14, Kento Momota bt Viktor Axelsen 21-15 21-18