All England Championships | Pullela Gopichand happy with PV Sindhu’s 'great' win over Nozomi Okuhara
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Pullela Gopichand has expressed his happiness after PV Sindhu managed to beat Nozomi Okuhara to enter in the semifinal of the All England Open as he said that it is good she ended on the right side this time. While admitting that it was a tough game, Sindhu has also said that she as under pressure.
Sindhu and Okuhara have now faced each other on ten occasions so far in their career and both shares an even record for five wins apiece. Sindhu equalized the head to head record with the help of her latest win over the Japanese in the ongoing All England Open where Sindhu ended up winning the game 20-22, 21-18, 21-18. Gopichand seemed happy with the performance of the Indian shuttler after yet another close fight against Okuhara.
"It was a tough match and I think both of them are used to playing long matches, and it is good that she ended on the right side this time but Okuhara has been a fantastic fighter and it is great entertainment for the spectators," Gopichand said as quoted by PTI.
"Overall very happy to see Sindhu pull off a great win. They have had very similar matches all along, and hopefully, she will pull through in the next couple of days as well."
The game lasted for one hour and 24 minutes and the fans witnessed a good match between the duo. As after losing the first set by 20-22, Sindhu made a comeback in the next one where she managed a win which forced the game to enter the decider. In the third, she controlled her nerves successfully and ended up entering in the next round where she will face Akane Yamaguchi.
"It was like the World Championship and Dubai Super Series match, not so long maybe but it was not easy to play against Okuhara. We know each other's game so there were long rallies. We had to give our best," Sindhu said.
"In the first game, I was leading 20-19 and I hit the net. I was nervous, I was also trailing in the second but I knew it is not over
"We can't expect easy points, we have to strategize our game focusing on each point. I was down in the decider and she was leading 16-12 like yesterday against Jindapol. So I am just happy I could fight back and win. It feels really great to be
On the international circuit, Sindhu has achieved many milestones but she also faced some heart-breaking losses which included the finals of 2016 Rio Olympics, 2017 World Championship, 2017 Dubai Super Series Final and India Open this year. The 22-year-old admitted that losing close matches from advantageous position affected her confidence level and she is looking to overcome it by working on the mental strength.
"I have lost matches where I am leading. I know physically and mentally at times when you lose such matches it hits you, but we have to come back stronger to ensure that it doesn't happen again," Sindhu said.
"I have been working on my mental game. My coaches have been telling me, because sometimes I find when I hit out or tap
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