World No 3 PV Sindhu entered the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Superseries after beating China Open champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in straight games on Friday. Sindhu, last year’s finalist, won the 37-minute match 21-12, 21-19 and will not take on former world No 1 Ratchanok Intanon in the semis.
The first game was a breeze for the Indian as she won it rather easily. The Japanese, who was the losing finalist at the Denmark and French Superseries before going the distance in China, stepped it up in the second game. The fifth seed was leading 13-8 at the one stage and it looked like the match would enter a decider.
However, Sindhu fought back to level the score 18-18 before going on to seal the match. This was Sindhu’s fourth win against the Japanese in six meetings. Yamaguchi had beaten Sindhu in their last meeting at the French Open.
Sindhu is the only remaining Indian in the Hong Kong Open.
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