Manila, April 29 Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu marched to the semifinal of Badminton Asian Championships after beating China’s He Bing Jiao on Friday.
Former world champion Sindhu registered 21-9, 13-21, 21-19 over the two-time world bronze medallist Jiao in the quarterfinal.
The two had faced each other in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics bronze medal match, where Sindhu emerged victorious in straight sets.
In the semifinal, Sindhu will face the winner of the match between world No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan and Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong, who is ranked 10th in the world.
In the opening game, Sindhu quickly raced to an 11-2 lead at mid-game break. A series of unforced errors from Jiao helped the Indian wrap up the first game 21-9.
In the second set, Jiao then came back stronger as she won 11 of the next 14 points after scores were tied at 10-all and managed to force the match into the decider.
The Indian ace used her experience and took six straight points early in the decider. Then, the Chinese took five points in a row before confusion in the scores halted the game.
After a short break, Jiao continued to attack and struck three straight points despite trailing 16-20. But Sindhu kept her composure and prevailed after wasting three match points, 21-19.
