It was another brave performance from P.V. Sindhu as she fought her way past world No. 2 and London Games silver medallist Wang Yihan of China 22-20, 21-19 in the women’s badminton quarterfinals at the Riocentro Pavilion here on Wednesday.
However, what could have been a rare double dominance over the top Chinese did not materialise. K. Srikanth’s loss to Lin Dan 21-6, 11-21 and 21-18 in the men’s quarterfinals meant that the five-time World champion stayed on course for his third successive Olympic gold.
It was a good chance missed for Srikanth, who was erratic to start with and the errors kept coming back towards the end.
Srikanth led 13-10 in the decider, before a clutch of mistakes and a resilient Lin Dan stopped him in his stride.
The 21-year-old Sindhu stayed intense and focused right through, playing a consistently high quality game. In the semifinals, Sindhu will play Nozomi Okuhara of Japan who beat compatriot Akane Yamaguchi 11-21, 21-17, 21-10.
The Japanese has beaten the wiry Indian thrice in the last three years, after Sindhu had beaten her in their first meeting in a cracker of a match 22-20 in the third game in the Asian Youth Championship in 2012.
Competing in her maiden Olympics, the tall Sindhu played like a champion to extend her winning performance against top players, after a testing start in which the first point required 29 shots.
Right through the match, Sindhu was willing to retrieve, wait for her chances before unleashing telling smashes. Sindhu passed a test of character in the climax when Wang Yihan, recovered from being down 13-18 to lead 19-18.
Sindhu won the next three points — first with a return winner, and then set up the matchpoint with a smash following a 33-shot rally, before the Chinese hit the net to bring the curtains down.
In the first game also, Sindhu had shown remarkable composure in handling the endgame, setting up three setpoints after being tied 18-18.
The Chinese did show her class by winning a 45-shot rally to reverse the flow in her favour, but Sindhu was far too sharp and alert to let the tide turn decisively against her.
“I am very happy. I have no words because she played an excellent game,” said Sindhu, quite relaxed, and not unduly excited about her triumph.
“There were long rallies, and it was anybody’s game,” said Sindhu, underplaying her efficient handling of the situation and a superior opponent.
“This is one of the best moments but I hope there will be many more,” she added
There was constant vociferous support from the stands, and the crowd at times broke into Brazilian style cheering with a rhythmic song, which Sindhu acknowledged gratefully.
“I am very thankful to them because they really cheer a lot for me.
“I think the crowd is superb and they are giving me so much motivation,” she said.
The 28-year-old Wang Yihan meanwhile felt that she did not have the right strategy to play Sindhu especially after having lost to her in the previous meeting in Denmark.
“I had lost to her last time. So, you cannot say for sure that I will win,” she said.
