India’s Olympic and World silver medallist shuttler P.V. Sindhu exacted sweet revenge of her World Championship heart-break as she defeated Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in a thrilling summit clash to clinch the women’s singles title at the Korea Open Super Series here on Saturday.
Fifth-seeded Sindhu overcame the eighth-seeded Okuhara 22-20, 11-21, 20-18 in yet another energy-sapping contest that lasted an hour and 23 minutes to win the $600,000 tournament. It was the 22-year-old’s third Super Series title of her career.
Sindhu started the final brightly, holding a 5-2 lead early in the first game. Okuhara fought back and equalised at the seven-point mark, firing some delectable drop shots. Sindhu, however, held a two-point lead at the mid-game break.
Later, Okuhara grabbed four consecutive points to take a 13-12 lead. But Sindhu ended the momentum with a crisp winner. She then matched Okuhara shots for shots and didn’t allow the Japanese to dictate the pace of the game.
Even though Okuhara tried to play long rallies, Sindhu was smart enough to not give her much space to go for aggressive strokes.
Sindhu held a 19-17 lead and it became 20-18. Okuhara managed to save two game points as she equalised 20-all. Sindhu then stamped her authority with two shots which Okuhara failed to defend as the Indian clinched the first game 22-20.
In the second game, Okuhara went for the attack straightaway and soon opened up an 11-6 handsome lead.
Okuhara likes to move the shuttle quicker than Sindhu and the Japanese’s sharp game forced the Indian on the backfoot. Okuhara won the second game in a flash, with a scoreline of 21-11.
In the decider, Sindhu started on a strong note, holding an 8-4 lead early. She mixed aggressive smashes with cunning net-game which rattled the Japanese, who was forced to trail throughout the match.
A six-point advantage for Sindhu at the mid-game break meant Okuhara was left with a mountain to climb. Okuhara tried her best but Sindhu continued to pick points to keep the Japanese at bay.
A 18-14 lead seemed to be healthy for Sindhu but a feisty Okuhara didn’t allow the Indian to roll to the title and managed to save two match points. But Sindhu remained calm and composed to seal a 21-18 win and bag the title.
The win also helped Sindhu to level her head-to-head record against Okuhara, making it 4-4.
Meanwhile, unseeded Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting defeated compatriot Jonatan Christie 21-13, 19-21, 22-20 in an hour and eight minutes to clinch the men’s title.
The results (finals): Women: P.V. Sindhu bt Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) 22-20, 11-21, 20-18. Men: Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (Ina) bt Jonatan Christie (Ina) 21-13, 19-21, 22-20.
