It was worth waking up at 4 am to watch the match between Silver medalist of London Olympics Wang Yihan of China and rising star of badminton from India PV Sindhu. It was remarkable skills and mental endurance from PV Sindhu that stunned world no. 2 Wang Yihan in the badminton Women’s Singles Quarter-finals. Balancing aggressive game with calm nerves, Sindhu dominated her match and won in straight sets (22-20, 21-19).
Wang was wonderful at the net play but Sindhu held on upper hand with her defense combined with aggression. With this win, Sindhu is next in line to register herself as a great player from India after Saina by reaching the semi-final of the Olympic Games. Those who didn’t get a chance to watch her match missed a close and seesaw battle between two wonderful players from Asia.
The first set was a must win for both players, as it could not only have provided momentum but also the edge to the player over her opponent. Wang was fully dominating the first set until the break leading by 11-8 but then on was a brilliant comeback by Sindhu to take the score to 14-14. Sindhu kept her calm to lead the set at 20-17 when Wang made a surprising come back to make it 20-20. Both player used their height and great skills and went neck-to-neck in the first set. No doubt Wang is a better player but it was Sindhu who shifted the drift to her play and won the first set by 22-20.
Sindhu carried the momentum in the second set and was leading till the break with 11-8. But it is never easy to win over a player like Wang, Wang showed her experience and great skills with defense to frustrate Sindhu and make it 13-13. Wang was up for a fight when she won the consecutive six points to make it a lead with 19-18, but unfortunately it was the last point she scored in the second set. It was the shot by Wang that found net instead of Sindhu court and as soon as the cork hit the net Sindhu collapsed on the ground celebrating her berth in the semi of Olympics 2016.
The centre court will be again on fire on Thursday when she will play her semi-final match against Nozomi Okuhara of Japan. All she need is some rest, mental calmness and our best wishes to win the match.