BWF China Open | PV Sindhu saves three match points to enter final

11/19/2016

PV Sindhu enacted a brilliant comeback to defeat her higher-ranked opponent Sung Ji-hyun 11-21, 23-21, 21- 19 to enter the final of the China Open today. Sindhu saved three match points off the Korean in the second game before enacting another late comeback in the third to win a match of endurance.

Sindhu went into the final against her higher-ranked opponent World No. 7 Sung Ji-hyun with a superior head-to-head record of 5-3.

However, the Korean took the initiative very early on and ran away with the lead at 5-1. Although Sindhu managed to hold on until 9-6, Sung went on a 5-point streak to reach 16-7 very soon. Holding on to the lead, she won the first set 21-11.

The second set, though, saw Sindhu come back strongly. The Indian kept up with Sung until 7-7, but Sung once again went into the break with a lead of 11-7. Sindhu caught up with her at 16-16, but the Korean once again went into the fore to reach 20-17 holding three match points. In a remarkable comeback, Sindhu drew par at 20-20 with some wonderful play from the back and even took set point at 20-21. But, the Korean evened things with a delicate drop that just about tumbled over the net to make it 21-21. Sindhu took another point and then closed out the game thanks to an unforced error from the World No. 7.

In the third, the duo once again went toe-to-toe as Sindhu kept tagging behind the Korean never going down by more than three points at any stage. However, Sung went into the break with a slender one-point lead with a delightful cross-court drive that Sindhu could not reach. Sindhu drew par at 12-12 thanks to an error from Jung. Although Jung regained the lead immediately, Sindhu suddenly seemed to have gained some momentum from that result and went on a long rally to go 13-14 up.

Both players were visibly tired, and it appeared a battle of endurance – both physical and mental - at this stage. While Sindhu seemed to have found the strength to suddenly come up with scorching smashes, the Korean gave away two points on unforced errors to send the score to 16-18 in Sindhu's favor. The Indian contributed with her own set of errors to allow Sung to draw par at 18-18 though. A reflex overhead return while off-balance gave Sindhu the lead and with it came the of-late trademark shriek. It got louder on the next point as Sindhu won two match points at 18-20.

Although she lost one, Sindhu gave it her all in the next point with three back-to-back smashes the last of which beat Sung and just landed on the line. A relieved Sindhu slumped to the floor after having entered the final saving three match points in the second set and enacting another late comeback in the third.

BWF China Open | PV Sindhu saves three match points to enter final

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