PV Sindhu stars in thriller, in semis

Singapore, July 15

Double Olympics medallist shuttler PV Sindhu pulled off a thrilling win to advance to the semifinals but compatriots Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy suffered defeats at the Singapore Open Super 500 here today.

Third seed Sindhu overcame a strong challenge from Han Yue before notching up a 17-21 21-11 21-19 win in the women’s singles competition. It took the world No. 7 over an hour to book her first semifinals berth since the Thailand Open in May.

Sindhu will next face the unseeded Saena Kawakami of Japan, who caused an upset by eliminating sixth-seeded Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand 21-17 21-19.

The Indian star boasts of a 2-0 head-to-head record against world No. 38 Kawakami. London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwalwent down 13-21 21-15 20-21 to Japan’s Aya Ohori.

In the men’s singles, Prannoy showed promise and won the first game by nine points but Kodai Naraoka took the second and then went on to seal the match 12-21 21-14 21-18. The men’s doubles pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila also bowed out.