Shuttler Sindhu marches to Singapore Open final effortlessly
Saturday, 16 July 2022 (13:24 IST)
Kallang: Ace shuttler PV Sindhu sailed into the women’s singles final at the Singapore Open Super 500 tournament on Saturday trouncing Saena Kawakami of Japan 21-15, 21-7 in the semifinal.
Former world champion will face the winner of the match between Japan's Aya Ohori and Chinese shuttler Wang Zhi Yi in Sunday’s final.
This will be Sindhu's third final of the season, having won the Syed Modi International and Swiss Open Super 300 titles in January and March, respectively.
Sindhu started off with intent and raced to a 7-2 lead with well-placed smashes and drop shots. Kawakami, however, fought back and drew level at 11-all. The momentum looked into Japanese shuttler's favour but the Indian stepped on the pedal to take five of the final six points to pocket the game.
In the second game, Sindhu stamped her authority and took a formidable 11-4 lead at the time of breather. After break, Sindhu continued to dominate the proceedings despite some high intensity shots from her Japanese opponent and wrapped up the win to enter the final.
Sindhu is the lone Indian left in the fray after Saina Nehwal bowed out in the quarterfinals. HS Prannoy, in men’s singles, and men's doubles pair of M R Arjun and Dhruv Kapila had also suffered exit in the final eight stage.(UNI)