Badminton

PV Sindhu Cruises Into Indonesia Masters Semi-Finals

PV Sindhu beats Hong Kong Neslihan Yigit 21-13, 21-10 in 35 minutes to enter the semi-finals whereas Lakshya Sen crashes out

Sentinel Digital Desk

NEW DELHI: PV Sindhu advanced to the Indonesia Masters 2021 semi-finals with a convincing win against Hong Kong's Neslihan Yigit on Friday.

Sindhu advanced to the final four by defeating her opposition 21-13, 21-10 in just 35 minutes.

Sindhu never felt threatened or hassled in her quarter-final encounter against world No. 30 Yigit as she maintained her command throughout the match and had no issue completing it with a clean sweep.

Sindhu will look out the winner of the quarter-final match between first seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan and fifth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand in the semi-final. She had also won her last two matches but lost three, overall, sindhu leads their record 12-7. PV Sindhu, an elite shuttler from India, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Masters Super 750 badminton competition in Bali after a stunning comeback victory over Spain's Clara Azurmendi.

Sindhu maintained control of the rallies and never let Yigit get an advantage of her game. She led 11-6 at halftime in the opening game Sindhu maintained her lead after the break, and in fact improved it, winning the first game 21-13. In the second game, Yigit attempted to let down Sindhu by winning the opening three points, but she was unfazed, winning the next three points to equalise and then regaining control. Despite the fact that Yigit stayed close to her early in the second game, the Indian never seemed to lose control. She remained composed, took her shots, and stuck to the plan she had devised prior to arriving on the court.

Sindhu scored four straight points just before the interval to take an 11-8 lead. Sindhu thoroughly overpowered Yigit after the break, with the Hong Kong player winning only two points before the Indian finished it out. In the semi-final, the defending world champion will face either Japan's Akane Yamaguchi or Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong. After the French Open last month, this is PV Sindhu's second consecutive BWF World Tour semi-final participation.

Later in the day, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy will compete in an all-Indian quarter-final at the Indonesia Masters.

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