Competition: Dubai World Superseries Finals
Date: Wednesday, 14 November, 2016
Time: Around 6-6.30pm IST
Venue: Hamdan Sports Complex, Dubai
TV Coverage: Star Sports 4, Star Sports HD4 (In India)
Live Streaming: Star Sports Hotstar
Preview
(2) Akane Yamaguchi (WR #8) vs (5/8) PV Sindhu (WR #10)
Head-to-head record: Sindhu leads 2-1
In her debut at the prestigious Dubai World Superseries Finals, India’s PV Sindhu could not have asked for a better draw. She has been placed in Group B alongside the second seed Akane Yamaguchi, ¾ seed Sun Yu (World Ranking: 6) and the 5/8 seed Carolina Marin (World Ranking: 2).
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The latter is the only one out of the three against whom the Indian has a losing head-to-head record.
First up for the Rio Olympic silver medallist is the 19-year-old Japanese star Akane Yamaguchi. After losing her first ever encounter against the World No. 8 back in 2013, the Indian has won their next two meetings.
The last one of these came this year in May during the Uber Cup where the Pullela Gopichand protégé pummelled the teen in straight games.
The Indian, who collected the BWF ‘Most Improved Player’ award, has made huge progress since that last showdown. Her brilliant run in the Superseries circuit could not have come at a better time.
Having won the China Open Superseries Premier and reaching the Hong Kong Superseries final, the Indian has undoubtedly come to this gala year-ender with a rich vein of form. If her performances at those two events are anything to go by, they indicate she is definitely keen to build on her Olympic success.
The sharp attack, the highly-improved defence that she showed in Brazil were all on display during the Asian swing. And she would need all of that to tackle a player of Yamaguchi’s calibre, who just like Sindhu, has arrived with a huge momentum.
Yamaguchi won the Korea Open and the Denmark Open following her disappointing campaign at Rio and thus qualified in the second place for this tournament.
The teenage prodigy would look to trouble Sindhu with her superb defensive game and retrieval. The Indian needs to be on the move constantly to keep the Japanese at bay.
That said, Sindhu’s all-round game has developed by leaps and bounds and her calmness under pressure too has been admirable for the last few months. Yamaguchi can snatch a game but Sindhu is expected to have the last laugh.
