Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu is just one step away from clinching her maiden Super Series Premier title as she reached the finals of the China Open after registering a come from behind win over Korea Sung Ji Hyun at the USD 700,000 tournament here on Saturday.
Seventh seed Sindhu edged out Ji Hyun, seeded sixth, 11-21 23-21 21-19 in a thrilling contest that lasted an hour and 24 minutes here. This was Sindhu’s sixth win over Ji Hyun in nine encounter.
The two-time bronze medallist at World Championship, Sindhu will lock horns with local favourite Sun Yu, seeded eighth, in the summit clash on Sunday. Sindhu was up for a shock in the opening game as she just couldn’t match up with the Korean, who dominated the game all throughout after opening a 5-1 lead early on. Ji Hyun kept extending her lead and eventually pocketed the game comfortably.
A jolted Sindhu then came up with a much improved performance in the second game as she locked herself in a battle of supremacy with Ji Hyun, moving neck and neck till 7-7. The Korean changed gears and entered the b reak with a 11-7 lead. After the breather, Sindhu erased the deficit with four points but Ji Hyun again managed to march ahead and grab three match points at 20-17.
Sindhu saved two match points with some gritty strokes, including an angled drop shot before drawing level. She reached a game point but wasted it before she sealed a long rally with a powerful smash to roar back into the match. In the decider, Sindhu lagged behind again early on but fought back from 3-7 down to take a slender 10-9 lead but Ji Hyun won a thrilling rally to go into the break with a lead.
Ji Hyun moved to a 12-10 lead next after Sindhu’s backhand drop went out but the Indian kept breathing down her neck. A superb forehand from Sindhu and an error from Ji Hyun helped the Indian grab two match points at 20-18. Sindhu eventually sealed it with a superb cross court smash. Sindhu had reached her maiden Super Series final at the Denmark Open last year but the title eluded her as she lost to China’s Li Xuerui.