Sindhu storms into semis to confirm Badminton Asia Championships medal; Chirag-Satwik go down fighting in quarters

Sindhu storms into semis to confirm Badminton Asia Championships medal; Chirag-Satwik go down fighting

Modified Apr 29, 2022 21:31 IST

Fourth seed PV Sindhu beat fifth seed He Bing Jiao of China 21-9, 13-21, 21-19 on Friday. (File Photo)

In-form PV Sindhu ensured a medal by reaching the semifinals of the Badminton Asia Championships in Manila, Philippines, on Friday.

Fourth seed PV Sindhu quelled a spirited challenge from He Bing Jiao of China in the women’s singles quarter-finals. The world No. 7 edged past fifth seed He Bing Jiao 21-9, 13-21, 21-19 in a match that lasted an hour and 16 minutes.

In their first meeting since the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal play-off, former world champion Sindhu overcame a late fight back from China’s He Bing Jiao in a thriller.

With this hard-fought win, the 26-year-old Sindhu has confirmed her second medal at the event.

The Double Olympic medalist got off to a dream start as she pocketed the first game quite easily at 21-9.

However, world No. 9 Bing Jiao staged a comeback by claiming the second game at 21-13 to force the decider.

Sindhu was ahead 16-9 in the third game and it looked like the win was sealed.

The Chinese shuttler had other plans, however, as she made a stunning comeback to make it 15-17. The nerves were clearly showing as Sindhu failed to convert three game point opportunities and the margin was reduced to just a solitary point (20-19). Sindhu went on to grab the final point, much to the relief of her fans.

Sindhu completes hat-trick of wins against He Bing Jiao

It was Sindhu’s eighth victory in 17 matches against the Chinese. Sindhu also completed a hat-trick of wins against He Bing Jiao with Friday's sensational victory.

The tall Hyderabadi Sindhu will face defending champion and top-seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the semi-final. The diminutive Yamaguchi ousted sixth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand 9-21, 21-15, 21-17 in the other quarter-finals.

Sindhu has an impressive 13-8 head-to-head record against world No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi. The Indian star will have a psychological advantage, having won three of her last four encounters with the Japanese.

Fourth loss in a row for Chirag-Satwik against the Malaysians

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty wasted a bright start and lost to fifth seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia 21-12, 14-21, 16-21 in the men’s doubles quarters.

Third-seeded Indian duo Satwik and Chirag could not capitalize on their brilliant start and went down fighting in 53 minutes against the Malaysians, who are ranked ninth in the world.