India's leading women's shuttler overcomes her Japanese nemesis Okuhara in three-set thriller; Prannoy beats Sugiarto to enter quarters
India's star shuttler PV Sindhu
Olympic silver medallist shuttler PV Sindhu produced a top-notched performance to eke out a thrilling three-game win over 2016 champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan to progress to her maiden semi-final at the USD 1000,000 All England Championship yesterday.
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See-saw battle
The quarter-final clash lived up to its billing as Sindhu and Okuhara strained every sinew before the Indian won 20-22, 21-18, 21-18 in a battle that lasted an hour and 24 minutes here. With this victory, Sindhu registered her fifth win over the Nagano-born World No. 6 Japanese, who robbed her of a World Championship gold at Glasgow after a 110 minute marathon battle.
Japan's Nozomi Okuhara
In Game 1, Sindhu led early, 6-4, but Okuhara levelled at 6-6. A see-saw battle saw the duo move neck and neck from 16-16 to 19-19. Okuhara then sent one over the back line to hand over a game point to Sindhu, whose return got buried at the net after breaking the strings of her racquet as it was 20-20. Sindhu then lost two successive challenges and the first game.
In Game 2, Sindhu managed a 3-1 lead initially but Okuhara clawed her way back again, and raced to 6-4 before Sindhu drew parity after the Japanese hit the net twice. The second game too went down to the wire at 18-18. Okuhara then missed the line twice to hand over game points to Sindhu, who grabbed it this time.
In the decider, Okuhara took an early 4-1 lead before Sindhu clawed her way back for at 6-6. and then 8-8. After the breather, Okuhara extended her lead to 14-11 and then 16-12 before Sindhu fought back for 17-18. Sindhu dominated the net next and then sent one to the back line to grab two match points and sealed the contest with a precise on-the-line return.
Prannoy in last four
Meanwhile, among the men, India's HS Prannoy progressed to the quarter-finals. The unseeded Prannoy, who came into the tournament after recovering from foot warts, outwitted former World No. 3 Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia 21-10, 21-19.
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