Sindhu beats top seed Yue to reach semis

Kuala Lumpur: India's ace shuttler PV Sindhu sailed into the semifinals of the Malaysia Masters, BWF Super 500 badminton tournament, beating top seed Chinese Han Yue in three games, here at the Axiata Arena on Friday. Compatriot Ashmita Chaliha's lost to sixth seed Zhang Yi Man of China in straight games to end her campaign in the quarterfinals.

Sindhu, who is aiming for first title since winning the Singapore Open back in 2022, registered 21-13 14-21 21-12 win over world No.6 Yue, to whom she fell in three games for the first time at the Badminton Asia Championships in China last month.

This is the 28-year-old Indian's seventh tournament of the year. She returned from injury at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February. Sindhu's slow and steady progress saw her make another significant step at Malaysia Masters as she reached her first semifinal in seven months.

She last reached the semifinal stage at the Denmark Open in October last year.

The Indian will next face Thai shuttler Busanan Ongbamrungphan, who came through her tussle with Putri Kusuma Wardani 21-12 21-23 21-16. Sindhu leads their head-to-head 17-1.

The two-time Olympic medallist clinched five consecutive points to win the first game from a 16-13 lead. But the Chinese bounced back and opened up a 15-3 lead in the second game. Although Sindhu was able to close the gap to 18-13, she failed to overturn the initial deficit and was forced to play a decider.

Despite losing the second game, Sindhu managed to keep her composure in the decider to secure the win, taking the final game 21-16, over Yue in 55 minutes.

"The third game was crucial for both of us. From the first rally, I made sure I was in the game focused and didn’t give away easy points. I was in control and I was confident of winning. I’m happy with how I played because I lost our last match. It’s a shame as I was leading, but this is like a sweet revenge," said Sindhu of her performance, as quoted by BWF.

"I was prepared for three games, I was prepared for long rallies. At this level, you can’t expect a straightforward match. The top 10 players are of the highest standards, you can’t take it easy. It’s good I’ve come to the semis, this gives me a lot of confidence to go much further," she added.

With Paris 2024 two months away, the two-time Olympic medallist -- Rio 2016 (silver) and Tokyo 2020 (bronze) -- is confident she could hit her peak with time.

"It’s nice (to be back in a semifinal). I’ve got a good training block as well. Mentally and physically I’m 100 per cent. Now it’s time to get that confidence back. I’m getting there but there’s still a lot more inside. I need to get all of that out," said the 28-year-old Indian. In other women's singles action, Chaliha suffered a 10-21,15-21 loss at the hands of world No. 16 Chinese in 30 minutes. She had earlier stunned world No. 10 Beiwen Zhang of USA 21-19, 16-21, 21-12 to secure a place in the quarterfinals. It means, Sindhu is now the only Indian left at the BWF Super 500 tournament.