Indonesia Open 2019 | PV Sindhu trumps Chen Yufei in straight games to book final date

PV Sindhu was at her best in the penultimate clash of the Indonesian Open’s women’s singles event as she triumphed 21-19, 21-10 to reach the final. The world number five has been in fine touch off late and not dropped a game for two straight matches now, having overcome Mozomi Ouhara 21-14, 21-7 in the quarterfinal. Having been crowned the winner of the World Tour Finals last year, she had so far failed to recapture last season's form but seems to have returned to her glorious ways.

China’s Chen Yufei started off on an offensive note, trying her best to set the tone for the match early. Coming into the match as the favourite, the world number 3 controlled the tempo of the first game for the majority of the period and even after a good fight by Sindhu in the middle stages, emerged with an 18-14 lead. However, just when the game looked done and dusted, the Indian assumed charge of affairs and in a fascinating display won seven of the last eight points to claim the first game 21-19. 

The second game saw the same pattern as the first, with the Chinese taking the attacking route and her momentum managing to leave Sindhu flabbergasted. She rushed to an early 4-0 lead, but started to lose a little steam and Sindhu was quick to capitalize. What came next was a show of exceptional prowess from the underdog as she forced one error after the other from Yufei to end up winning 21-10.

This was Sindhu’s fifth win over her Chinese counterpart in what was their eighth meeting. Earlier in the day, Akane Yamaguchi had prevailed over Tai Tzu Ying which means an enticing clash has been set up for the title. Yamaguchi is seated just one spot above Sindhu in the rankings, but the Indian has a better record against her. She leads 10-4 head to head and had won against her in their last meeting in the 2018 World Tour Finals’ ultimate clash. The two will battle it out tomorrow for the winner’s medal.