India could win another medal. And after Sakshi Malik's heroics on the wrestling mat on Wednesday, this time it could be on the badminton court.

PV Sindhu – who, like Saina Nehwal and Pullela Gopichand, among others, is from Hyderabad – is just one win away from securing another medal. On Thursday at 7.30 pm IST, all eyes will be on the World No. 10 as she takes on world No. 6 Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the semi-final.

Okuhara, who won this year's All England Open Championship, will be a tough test for the 21-year-old Sindhu despite the Indian's giant-killing run at Rio.

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Sindhu has made it to this stage after pulling off a stunning win against the second-ranked Wang Yihan from China. With that win she became only the second Indian to reach the women's singles semi-finals at Olympics. In 2012 at London, Saina Nehwal achieved the feat and went on to claim the bronze. Now, Sindhu stands one win away from bettering Saina's feat.

So far, Sindhu has been in sublime form at Rio, winning all but one of her four matches in straight games. Okuhara leads her 3-1, with all the matches going into three games. Her only win against the Japanese came back in 2012 at the Asia Youth Under-19 Championships.

Here are two things which could work in Sindhu's favour against Okuhara:

  • The 21-year-old from Hyderabad enjoys a distinct height advantage over her Japanese counterpart. Sindhu is 5' 10 inches compared to Okuhara's 5' 1 inches, which gives her wider reach and greater court coverage
  • Sindhu’s fitness has been incredible during the tournament and that can work to her advantage against Okuhara. Against Michelle Li in her second group game, she fought over 70 minutes to come back to win after losing the first game. Her quarter-final victory over Yihan Wang went on for 54 minutes, which means she has the stamina to keep fighting

But here's where Okuhara enjoys the advantage:

  • The world No. 6 has a superbly fast and intensive retrieving game. She can dictate the action and has the ability to pace the game according to her liking. She can also be deceptive near the net and also can change the trajectory of the game with ease
  • Her signature stroke is the backhand high drive produced with the elbow facing low, making it particularly difficult to read. Her speed and agility gives her edge against Sindhu and her relentless intensity will prove a major obstacle
  • Okurhara beat her Japanese compatriot Akane Yamaguchi 11-21 21-17 21-10 in the quarter-finals where she triumphed, largely due to her impeccable placement and deception