![\"PV](\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/PV-Sindhi-India-Open.jpg\")
New Delhi: India’s Olympic silver medallist P.V. Sindhu overcame South Korean second seed Sung ji Hyun on Saturday to set up a pulsating title showdown against Spanish top seed Carolina Marin in the India Open World Superseries badminton championships here.<\/p>\n
The Indian third seed got the better of Sung 21-18, 14-21, 21-14 in a women’s singles semi-final which lasted an hour and 16 minutes at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.<\/p>\n
The final on Sunday will be a repeat of the 2016 Rio Olympic final which saw Marin earning the gold medal. The world No.3 registered a facile 21-16, 21-14 win over Japanese fourth seed Akane Yamaguchi in 40 minutes.<\/p>\n
As compared to Sindhu, Marin struggled less during her Saturday’s game. And for the Indian it will be important to recover the energy she spent in the gruelling battle against Sung.<\/p>\n
The 25-year-old South Korean was inconsistent throughout the match. But she ensured that Sindhu had to put in her best.<\/p>\n
In the first game, Sung got off to a fine start, racing to a 6-3 lead. Then Sindhu equalised at the seven-point mark, aided by several unforced errors from the South Korean, who struggled with net play throughout the first game.<\/p>\n
Sindhu then took the lead, pressurising Sung to play the catch up game. Sung conceded the lead owing to a couple of shots that went wide, allowing Sindhu to build up a healthy 15-11 lead.<\/p>\n
The closest Sung came to erase the deficit was when one cross-court smash caught Sindhu off-guard showing the scoreline 17-16 in favour of the Indian. However, poor net play and Sindhu’s powerful smashes to the left of Sung again allowed the home star to win the first game 21-18.<\/p>\n
The second game saw Sindhu continuing her momentum as she zoomed to a 5-2 lead. But Sung stepped up her game and fought her way back with the help of an attacking brand of badminton.<\/p>\n
She gained an 8-6 lead with the help of six consecutive points and the momentum swung in her favour. Her cross-court smashes fell in the right places and Sindhu felt the pressure. And from thereon, even though Sindhu did her best to close the gap, Sung never looked back.<\/p>\n
Sindhu tried to force her way back, and at a point of time the 13-16 scoreline seemed to make a good contest. But Sung’s improved net play and array of lethal attacking strokes gave her a 21-14 win.<\/p>\n
In the third game, Sindhu was back in her rhythm and a 5-1 lead seemed a perfect start to the deciding game. And at the midway break, the Indian held a 11-4 lead.<\/p>\n
After the two-minute break, Sung went on an attacking spree, raising hopes of a fierce comeback as she reduced the deficit to two at 10-12. Sindhu, feeling the pressure, however, didn’t stop playing her aggressive game. Even though she made some unforced errors, the momentum swung in her favour. She then ran away with a 21-14 win.<\/p>\n
With this win, double World Championship bronze medallist Sindhu took a 7-4 lead in career meetings against Sung, the 2015 World Championship bronze medallist.<\/p>\n
“It is always difficult to play Sung Ji as she is a kind of player against whom you have to construct points as she would not give away easy points,” an ecstatic Sindhu said after the match.<\/p>\n
“In the past also, I have played against her and it was never easy to play her. But I had faith in myself and knew that I could go the distance.”<\/p>\n
Now, in her maiden India Open final, Sindhu will be up against Marin, who leads 5-4 in the head-to-head record against the Indian.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead to the final, Marin said: “For everyone it will be a rematch from the Olympic final but for us it will be a new chapter in our rivalry. She will have the home support but it will surely be an interesting match.”<\/p>\n
In the men’s finals, top seeded Viktor Axelsen will meet Chou Chen Tien Chou of Chinese Taipei. Axelsen got the better of NG Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong 21-12, 21-13, while Chou Chen beat the Danish youngster Anders Antonsen 21-17, 21-14.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi: India’s Olympic silver medallist P.V. Sindhu overcame South Korean second seed Sung ji Hyun on Saturday to set up a pulsating title showdown against Spanish top seed Carolina Marin in the India Open World Superseries badminton championships here.<\/p>\n
The Indian third seed got the better of Sung 21-18, 14-21, 21-14 in a women’s singles semi-final which lasted an hour and 16 minutes at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.<\/p>\n
The final on Sunday will be a repeat of the 2016 Rio Olympic final which saw Marin earning the gold medal. The world No.3 registered a facile 21-16, 21-14 win over Japanese fourth seed Akane Yamaguchi in 40 minutes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[11264,9937,21854,466,1811,19547],"class_list":["post-34114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-badminton-badminton","tag-badminton-news","tag-carolina-marin","tag-india-open-world-superseries-badminton-championships","tag-indian-sports-news","tag-p-v-sindhu","tag-sung-ji-hyun"],"yoast_head":"\n