Third seed PV Sindhu takes on second seed Sung Ji Hyun in the Women's singles semi-final of 2017 India Open in New Delhi on Saturday.
The Indian shuttler outclassed her counterpart Saina Nehwal in a high-pressure quarter-final outing yesterday. Sindhu was in no trouble against the sixth seed as she claimed the match in straight games. Sung, on the other hand, got the better of in-form Thai shuttler Rathanok Intanon 21-16, 22-20 in her last-eight outing.
Sindhu, who won her maiden Superseries title in China last year, came close to winning more in Hong Kong and Dubai but slipped in the final stages of the tournaments. Having begun the new season on a high, leading her Premier Badminton League (PBL) team, Chennai Smashers, to glory in January and following it up with a Grand Prix Gold title in India, the young shuttler will start as favourite today.
The Rio Olympic silver medallist would have been disappointed with her quarter-final exit at last month's All England Championships but she looks in good shape in the ongoing tournament, having not dropped a set yet.
Sindhu also has a 6-4 head-to-head advantage over Sung and the Indian shuttler also outclassed her arch rival in the PBL. However, the 21-year-old will be hoping for revenge as it was the South Korean, who stopped her from entering her maiden Superseries Finals title match last year.
Since then, Sung has got the better of some top-ranked shuttlers, including Intanon and also came up with a stiff fight against an impeccable Tai Tzu Ying in the semi-final of All England last month. The 25-year-old will know that the crowd in New Delhi will be backing its Olympic medallist but if the South Korean can bring out her best, she will be hard to stop later today.
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports
Malaysia: Astro Supersport
Singapore: Hub Sports 3
