New Delhi: Defending champion P.V. Sindhu geared up for an encore at the India Open badminton tournament as she booked a semi-final spot here on Friday. But the women’s field suffered a massive jolt when it lost two big guns, Saina Nehwal and Carolina Marin, in the quarter-final at the Siri Fort sports complex.
Fifth seed Beiwen Zhang of USA shocked Saina 21-10, 21-13 in 32 minutes while Hong Kong’s Cheung Ngan Yi accounted for second seed Marin 21-12, 21-19.
However, Sindhu kept the Indian flag flying high by going past eighth seed Beatriz Corrales of Spain 21-12, 19-21, 21-11 in 54 minutes. She will face 2013 world champion and third seed Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand next.
Sindhu dished out an attacking game to walk away with the opening game but the Spaniard came back in the second to lead 18-11. Sindhu reeled off seven points to draw parity at 18-18 but a lucky net chord kept the Spaniard alive in the match.
Sindhu showed class as she zoomed to an 11-6 advantage at the lemon break and ensured there were no hiccups as she disguised her returns to bamboozle her opponent.
Meanwhile, the Indian challenge in the men’s singles ended as eighth seed Sai Praneeth, Parupalli Kashyap, Sameer Verma bowed out in the quarters.
Sai Praneeth lost to third seed Chou Tien Chien of Chinese Taipei 15-21, 13-21, while Kashyap went down 16-21, 18-21 to China’s Qiao Bin. The winners will clash in the first semi-final on Saturday. Malaysia’s Isqandar Zulkarnain sent Verma packing 21-17, 21-14.
Tien Chien won in 43 minutes. Fourth seed Shi Yuqi too made it to the semis with a clinical 21-13, 21-12 victory over sixth seeded Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei.
