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PV Sindhu has simply been at her immaculate best so far at the BWF World Tour Finals 2018, registering three wins in as many matches in the group stage.
Her attack has been top notch as always, her defence and net play look to have been spruced up even more. And most notable was how fresh and spirited she looked all through her three group matches.
Pulling out of the Syed Modi International worked in her favour as she got the much-needed rest to recharge her batteries after a hectic season on the BWF World Tour. Her semi-final opponent is former World No. 1 Ratchanok Intanon, who has a slender 4-3 edge over the Indian in the head-to-head record.
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However, the World No. 6 Sindhu has not lost to the Thai since 2016 and her last two wins were both in straight games. The Thai hasn't been able to maintain her consistency for a better part of the season, which is the principal reason why her ranking has now slipped to eight.
Even though Sindhu does traditionally struggle against players with deception and guile, she should come through this clash, considering the terrific form she has shown so far at this tournament.
Sameer Verma's patience and highly-improved retrieval skills have been instrumental in helping him put together his best-ever season. And, even after he started his campaign with a loss to the World No. 1 Kento Momota, he shrugged it off soon to get a win in his next couple of group matches.
Now the 14th-ranked shuttler has an interesting face-off against the All England Open champion Shi Yuqi. The Chinese remained unbeaten in group play, going 3-0. But, even though the World No. 2 does indeed lead the Indian 2-1, it should be noted that he lost his most recent showdown with Verma. And that match was just two months ago at the Denmark Open.
The Chinese is, of course, still the favourite in this clash, having all the experience, the bigger titles and the home support. But Verma will try to draw inspiration from his win in Denmark to change the course of the match.
Schedule of matches involving Indians on December 15:
Ratchanok Intanon vs PV Sindhu at approx 12.20pm local time/9.50am IST
(3/4) Shi Yuqi vs Sameer Verma at approx 1.40pm local time/11.10 am IST
Here's everything you need to know about the BWF World Tour Finals 2018:
Tournament name: HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2018
Location: Guangzhou, China
Category: Season-ending championships
Date: Saturday, December 15, 2018
Round: Semi-finals
Broadcast: Live telecast on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD
Livestream: Hotstar.com
Live updates: Sportskeeda
