BWF Thailand Open | PV Sindhu advances to semi-finals after beating Malaysia's Soniia Cheah

Indian badminton ace PV Sindhu entered the $350,000 Thailand Open World Tour Super 500 tournament as the favourite even before it began last week, and she lived up to the expectations after she defeated the likes of Bulgaria’s Linda Zetchiri and Hong Kong’s Yip Pui Yin to seal a spot in the quarter-finals.

The 23-year old youngster has now managed to seal a semi-final spot as well as she defeated Malaysia’s Soniia Cheah in straight sets during their quarter-final encounter. Sindhu ran off to a 21-17 21-13 victory as she beat the world number 35 player in just 36 minutes.

In the first game, Sindhu endured a shaky start with Soniia initially leading 11-7 at the first interval but the lass from Hyderabad bounced back started putting pressure on the Malaysian with her attacking prowess as she secured four points when Soniia hit long. The Malaysian saved one game point before Sindhu won the first game in a stylish fashion with a smash.

In the second game, Sindhu managed to grab an 11-9 lead at the interval before she raced away with nine consecutive points on the trot. However, Soniia managed to stay alive by saving three match points up until Sindhu managed to end the game with another convincing smash.