Kuala Lumpur: India’s World No. 3 women’s singles player PV Sindhu claimed her 5th victory against World No. 6 and Rio Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain 22-20, 21-19 in a fiercely contested quarter-final match at the Malaysia Open on Friday.
The 22-year-old Indian player saved a set point in the first set when Marin hit the shuttlecock out of bound which saw Sindhu clawed back to level the score at 20-20. Marin then committed two errors by hitting the shuttlecock wide and then a net error for Sindhu to take the hard fought first set. Sindhu held a 19-15 advantage in the second set before finishing the game with a cross court smash.
The No. 3 seed Indian player will clash with No. 1 seed Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan in the semi-final.
The 24-year-old Tai Tzu Ying overcame a slow start in the opening game, rallied from 0-5, 6-11 to break local shuttler Goh Jin Wei 21-15 in the first set.
Tai showcased her unnerving confidence in the second set to win 21-15.
Thailand’s No. 4 seed Ratchanok Intanon also progressed to the semi-finals after an absorbing a 21-15, 21-16 victory against teammate Pornpawee Chochuwong in 40 minutes.
Intanon is set to face No. 8 seed He Bingjiao of China in another women’s singles semi-final on Saturday.
The 2018 Malaysia Open is a BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament that offers a total prize money of US$700,000.
