Indonesia Open | PV Sindhu storms past Nozomi Okuhara into semis
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PV Sindhu had one of her easier quarterfinal outings on Friday as she defeated old nemesis Nozomi Okuhara in straight games to reach the semi-final of the Indonesia Open. She would be facing Chinese World No.2 Chen Yufei in the next round, who overcame Beiwen Zhang to reach the semis.
Sindhu was undisputedly the better of the two on the day and that could be seen from the very first point of the first game. After she had opened up a three-point lead in 4-1, Okuhara did well to level proceedings at 6-6. However, that was the only time she could match Sindhu, for the Indian opened up a 10-6 lead soon after, and the Japanese eventually ended up losing the first game 14-21.
While many had expected Okuhara to make a comeback in the second game and take the match to a decider, what happened was quite the opposite. Sindhu again opened as the favourite with a 4-1 before rushing to a five-point lead at the break with the score reading 11-6. Okuhara hardly attempted a comeback and was soon trailing 15-7 in no time before Sindhu sealed the match 21-7.
She will be facing Chinese superstar Chen Yufei in the next round, who she has faced seven times in her career, enjoying a 4-3 edge in the head to head encounters.
