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PV Sindhu will look to win her second title at the BWF World Tour Finals when she squares off against World No. 6 An Seyoung in Bali, Indonesia, on Sunday.
The world champion held her nerves to stave off a late surge from World No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi on her way to a 21-15, 15-21, 21-19 win in the semifinals on Saturday.
The Indian went ahead 17-12 in the decider only to see her nemesis storm back to level matters at 17-17. In a tense end to a riveting match, Sindhu and Yamaguchi were locked at 19-19 before the former upped the ante to win the final couple of points of the match.
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The 70-minute win over her familiar foe will definitely boost Sindhu's confidence level ahead of the summit clash. This will be the first time the Indian will be contesting a final since finishing as runner-up to Carolina Marin at the Swiss Open in March.
In between, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist reached five semifinals only to falter each time. But this time Sindhu was able to show her mental strength under pressure which seemed to be missing in the past few weeks.
Up next for Sindhu is the fast-rising An Seyoung, the latest badminton sensation to emerge from South Korea. The 2019 BWF Most Promising Player of the Year has already made her mark on the senior circuit. Seyoung has been on a roll this year, winning titles at the Indonesia Open and the Indonesia Masters, in addition to a runner-up finish at the Denmark Open.
It was on her way to the final in Odense that she crossed swords with her next opponent, PV Sindhu. The Indian struggled to match up to the Korean's pace and anticipation skills, falling to a 11-21, 12-21 defeat.
Sindhu should be better prepared this time to tackle the rising star as she has won three of her four matches at the BWF World Tour Finals. The World No. 7's only defeat of the week came against World No. 10 Pornpawee Chochuwong in three games.
Seyoung also suffered a three-game loss to Akane Yamaguchi in the group stages. But she showed excellent composure in downing Chochuwong 25-23, 21-17 in a thrilling 55-minute semifinal.
Having won the last two tournaments at the same venue, the Korean will now be eager for a hat-trick of titles. However, Sindhu is a big-match player and if she can bring her attacking game to the fore, she could halt the winning momentum of her young rival.
BWF World Tour Finals 2021: Match details
Fixture: PV Sindhu vs An Seyoung.
Head-to-head: An Seyoung leads PV Sindhu 2-0 in the head-to-head. The Korean beat the Indian 21-11, 21-12 in the quarterfinals of the Denmark Open in October this year.
Date: 5 December 2021.
Time: Approx 2.30 pm local time, 12:00 pm IST.
Tournament: HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2021.
Round: Final.
Venue: Bali, Indonesia.
Category: Season-ending championships.
Prize money: $1,500,000.
BWF World Tour Finals 2021: TV schedule
The 2021 BWF World Tour Finals is being telecast live on the Star Sports Select 1 & Star Sports Select 1 HD TV channels.
BWF World Tour Finals 2021: Live streaming details
The 2021 BWF World Tour Finals can be live-streamed on the Disney+Hotstar app.
