Singapore Open: PV Sindhu to face Saena Kawakami in semis
Indian shuttler PV Sindhu reached the semis of the ongoing Singapore Open on Friday. The two-time Olympic medalist beat China's Han Yue in three games. Notably, Sindhu had to fight her way back to clinch the contest 17-21, 21-11, 21-19. Sindhu will face Saena Kawakami in the last four. Meanwhile, fellow Indians Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy lost their respective quarter-finals.
Sindhu made to work hard for her victory
Sindhu started slowly against her Chinese opponent to be trailing 11-14 before scoring four back-to-back points. However, Han Yue's deft touches made a difference thereafter. The second game saw Sindhu go on the offensive and dictate the proceedings as she forced a decider. Sindhu was trailing 14-19 in the third game before digging deep to keep her nerves and seal the contest.
A 3-0 record for Sindhu over Yue
As per BWF, Sindhu now has a 3-0 record over Han Yue in their career meetings. Prior to this win, Sindhu beat Yue at the China Open in 2017 and Japan Open in 2019. Sindhu won both the matches in straight games.
How has Sindhu performed in 2022?
Sindhu has a 35-11 win-loss record in 2022. She is currently playing her 14th tournament this year. Sindhu has won two titles this year - the Swiss Open and the Syed Modi India International. Prior to the Singapore Open, she was ousted in the quarters of the Malaysia Masters. She had also suffered a quarter-final exit at the Malaysia Open before that.
Sindhu will face Saena Kawakami next
Sindhu's next opponent is Saena Kawakami. The Japanese international went on to upset Thai shuttler Pornpawee Chochuwong in the quarters. Saena won 21-17, 21-19 in straight games. In terms of the H2H meetings, Sindhu has a 2-0 record against Saena. She beat Saena in the 2018 China Open and 2017 Sunrise India Open.
Saina and Prannoy crash out
Saina went down to Japan's Aya Ohori 13-21, 21-15, 22-20 in a closely-fought match. Notably, Saina conceded a 19-16 lead in the decider to crash out of the Super 500 tournament. Prannoy lost 21-12, 14-21, 18-21 against Kodai Naraoka.
