Indian Champion PVSindhu has made it to the Semi-finals of Tokyo Olympics. Sindhu saved two setpoints in the 2nd Game and defeated Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 21-13, 22-20.
PV Sindhu afterbeating Akane Yamaguchi shared, “I’m happy but it's not over yet. For me it'stime to go back, relax and get ready for the next match. I'm happy but I needto prepare for the next match. There were some very long rallies. The secondgame was very important, I was leading and Akane came back - so I couldn'trelax. On my side there were a few errors. I wasn't nervous even though she wasat game point, my coach was saying: 'It's okay, keep the focus and you'll get there'.He was constantly supporting me and that got me by and I'm happy I got back intwo games.”
Sindhu won the 1stset with ease but the 2nd set was a real thriller. Sindhu will play hersemi-finals match on 31st July against the winner of Ratchanok Intanon vs TaiTzu Ying clash.
The first game was moreclose than the scoreline suggested and Sindhu had to bring out the best in herto win it 21-13. The scoreline in the first game might not indicate how closelyit was fought, but Yamaguchi made her fight for every point. The star Indianshuttler was just one more game away from progressing to the semi-finals.
Yamaguchi made Sindhutoil hard in the second game, and for every point, the Indian shuttler had tobe at her best. In the end, the number six seed Sindhu ended up winning thematch in straight games.
In the second game ofthe quarter-final, there was a 54-shot rally between Sindhu and Yamaguchi andit lasted for one minute and two seconds.
On Thursday, Sindhuhad notched up a straight-game triumph over Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt, 13thseed, in the pre-quarterfinals.
She was the loneIndian in the fray in badminton after men's singles player B Sai Praneeth andmen's doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy failed toqualify for the knockout stage.