NANJING (CHINA), Aug 4: Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu continued her incredible run of form in the World Championships, earning a second successive final spot after seeing off Japan�s Akane Yamaguchi at the women�s singles semifinals here today.
World number three Sindhu, who had finished runners-up at the Glasgow edition last year after losing to another Japanese Nozomi Okuhara in an epic summit showdown, notched up a superb 21-16, 24-22 win over world number two Yamaguchi in a 55-minute hard-fought match.
�It was a good match overall. I hope this time it would be a better result then the last time. I have to prepare well for tomorrow, so its not yet over,� Sindhu said after the match.
Sindhu entered the match with a 6-4 head-to-head record against Yamaguchi, who had defeated the Indian in big-ticket events such as All England Championship this year and Dubai Superseries Final last year. The duo faced off twice this year with each registering a win.
�We know each other�s game, we play very often, we played at the All England Championship. So we needed to be patience and consistent to win. I was prepared for long matches because both Yamaguchi and Okuhara are very good players and can go on and on in the rallies,� Sindhu said.
�So I had to be on the court always. In the second game when I was down, I still had hope that till the last point it wasn�t over for me, so I kept trying. I had to work hard to get each point.�
The 23-year-old from Hyderabad, who also won two bronze medals in 2013 and 2014, will face Olympic champion and former two-time gold medallist Carolina Marin of Spain tomorrow.
Marin had robbed Sindhu off a gold medal at the Rio Olympics after defeating the Indian in the summit clash.
Overall, Marin has a 6-5 advantage over Sindhu, who had beaten the Spaniard in their last encounter at the Malaysia Open in June.
�Tomorrow is going to be an aggressive match. Again we know each other�s game, so no easy matches, no easy points, just have to turn up and give my best tomorrow,� Sindhu said. PTI
The matches will start at 3.30 pm.
