Post-match reading:
Watch: ‘It was very unfair’ – Sindhu reacts after umpiring controversy during Asia C’ships SF defeat
PV Sindhu goes down fighting in the semis against Akane Yamaguchi
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 21-16: And that is it. Yamaguchi through to the final after 66 mins. Sindhu started off well but was then derailed by an argument with the referee in the second game. Wasn’t able to recover after that.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 20-15: Five match points!
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 18-14: Sindhu sends one long at the end of a long 35-shot rally. Yamaguchi is almost there.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 17-13: The players are trading points and if this goes on Yamaguchi will win. Sindhu needs a string of points here.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 15-12: Superbly disguised crosscourt shot earns Sindhu another point. Hope floats... but only just.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 15-11: A chance for Sindhu... a nice run of points. She is hanging in there.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 14-9: Sindhu wins in but Yamaguchi playing some amazing shots to just stay in the point. Crazy recovery skills.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 12-7: Good start after the break with a nice crosscourt smash. Yamaguchi has the momentum.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 11-7: A four-point lead for Akane going into the break in the decider. A handy lead to have at the moment. The Japanese has led all the way in this game.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 9-7: Now Sindhu gets her challenge right. The shuttle has landed in.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 8-6: Fast and furious play from Yamaguchi and then the smash to finish it.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 7-5: Unsuccessful challenge for Yamaguchi. It was right on the back line from Sindhu.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 6-4: Sindhu gets another point as Yamaguchi sends one long. A two-point game now.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 6-2: The Japanese star is 6-2 up in the decider and she is playing from the side where drift is a bigger factor. Sindhu needs to get back into this now!
Vinayakk Mohanarangan: Can’t quite get officials wanting to impose themselves at the cost of affecting the match this much. Honestly didn’t feel like there were too many delays in gameplay at all this match. Seen much worse, even from Sindhu herself. She needs to dig deep in the decider now.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 4-1: Sindhu sends one long. Just seems to be a little out of it. Needs to get her head back in the game.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19, 3-0: Yamaguchi makes a fine start to the third game. Seems to be dealing with the drift better for now too. Better range on her shots for sure.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 21-19: Yamaguchi seals the game with the tightest of net shots. Sindhu unable to get it back and we are heading into the decider. Sindhu seemed to handle the drift better but Yamaguchi found some rhythm towards the end. The third game should be a classic.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 20-19: Game point!
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 19-19: Sindhu ties it up at 19-19. Really good play at the net followed by the big finish.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 19-18: An error from Yamaguchi, puts a shuttle into the net. So tight!
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 18-17: Nice steep smash by Sindhu to make it a one-point game. The Indian needed this.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 17-15: And another winner. Yamaguchi has the lead again. Sindhu snatching at the shots now. The mind is clearly a mess.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 15-15: And Yamaguchi draws level. It all begins again.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 14-15: One-point game! Yamaguchi wins a point at the net.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 13-14: Yamaguchi wins the next point and Sindhu will need to find her mental balance quickly here.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 12-14: Some controversy here. Sindhu has been asked to hand over the shuttle to Yamaguchi. The referee had asked her to serve faster. Sindhu arguing that she was ready but Yamaguchi wasn’t.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 11-13: Desperate defending by Yamaguchi and then an error from Sindhu to end the point. This was a fabulous point. Sindhu looked like she had it but the Japanese stood firm.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 10-12: Sindhu got the challenge wrong. She thought it was long but it wasn’t. A two-point game now. Here comes Yamaguchi!
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 8-12: Lovely disguised drop shot by Yamaguchi gets her the point against Sindhu. She will need a lot more of that.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 6-11: Sindhu was 1-4 down in the early going but she has turned in an exceptional performance after that to go into the break leading 11-6. Drift or no drift, the Indian has stuck to her plans.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 5-8: Sindhu sends one deep into the backhand side and get the error out of Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 4-6: A string of points for Sindhu, she has flipped a switch here. Some brilliant play at the net makes it a two-point lead.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 4-4: Brilliant down the line smash helps Sindhu level things up.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 4-2: Sindhu wins a 28-shot rally to get back a point. That was a key point. Makes sure Sindhu stays in touch here.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 4-1: But the Japanese star takes the next four points. Sindhu attacking but making some errors too here.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu - 12-21, 0-1: Yamaguchi sends one wide to start the second game.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu, 12-21: Sindhu takes the first game rather easily, in 16 minutes. She was in the right frame of mind and Yamaguchi looked a little out of it to be fair. It will be interesting to see how much of a factor the drift was once the players chance ends.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu, 12-20: Eight game points for Sindhu!
Vinayakk Mohanarangan: Just after Sindhu took a 11-5 lead into the interval, Akane Yamaguchi actually stays behind on the court for a few seconds and hits a lift from baseline to see how strong the drift is.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu, 11-18: But Sindhu cuts off the run right in time and takes two points of her own. She is clearly in an aggressive mood today.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu, 11-16: A nice little phase for Yamaguchi who is finally getting some rhythm going. A couple more points and she will be right in it.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu, 6-14: Drift a factor here but this is a nice lead to have for Sindhu. Just needs to keep her head down and concentrate on finishing this game off without much fuss.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu, 5-12: Misjudgement by Yamaguchi gives Sindhu the first point after the break.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu, 5-11: Yamaguchi hasn’t been able to put any pressure on Sindhu in the early going. Too many errors from the Japanese star and Sindhu has taken full advantage of that. The Indian has done what she needed to. Kept things simple.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu, 4-10: Fine badminton by Sindhu. Everything is working for her at the moment. Down the line smash to make it a six-point game.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu, 4-8: A couple of errors from Sindhu now and the lead is down to four points.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu, 2-8: Yamaguchi just hasn’t found her range. Far too many errors from her at the moment. Sindhu won’t mind it at all though.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu, 2-6: Fine start by Sindhu. She is moving well, attacking and forcing the errors out of Yamaguchi too. Just what the coach would have ordered.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu, 1-2: Sindhu took the first two points but Yamaguchi takes the third with a down the line smash.
Yamaguchi vs Sindhu, 0-0: Here we go! Both players have had some tough matches on their way into the semis.
11.08 am: PV Sindhu has the better to H2H.
11.07 am: The players are walking onto the courts now. A quick toss, a short warm-up to follow and then the match will begin.
10.55 am: It was an emotional three game win for Sindhu against the in-form He Bingjiao. The Indian won 21-9 13-21 21-19 in 1h 16 mins.
Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the semifinals at the Badminton Asia Championships were PV Sindhu takes on top seed Akane Yamaguchi, a battle between the former and current world champions.
Sindhu has guaranteed India a medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Manila, Philippines, after beating fifth seeded Chinese player He Bing Jiao in a tight three-game match on Friday to make it to the semi-finals.
Sindhu is the last Indian remaining in contention at the continental individual event. On Friday, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost in three games against Malaysian pair Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh.
Screenshots in the blog courtesy Tournament Software / Sony Sports Network