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Chen Yufei 21-17, 21-16 PV Sindhu: Chen Yufei goes through to the final. PV Sindhu started the 2nd game well but Chen just had more control all through this match. The Olympic champion wins 21-17, 21-16.

Chen Yufei 21-17, 20-16 PV Sindhu: One match point saved on Chen’s error.

Chen Yufei 21-17, 20-15 PV Sindhu: Signature precise smash from Chen and she is 2 points away. And then a gorgeous crosscourt at the net. Match points.

Chen Yufei 21-17, 18-15 PV Sindhu: And immediately Sindhu sends a crosscourt clear wide. She needed a run of points there. This could be over now.

Chen Yufei 21-17, 17-15 PV Sindhu: One of the best rallies of the match so far and it is dictated by Chen for the most part. Sindhu tries a clever slice drop and it is called in. But Chen challenges it... and it is IN. Sindhu needed that point! Crucial stage of this match.

Chen Yufei 21-17, 15-13 PV Sindhu: Just feels like Sindhu is rushing into her shots at the moment. Perhaps the pressure to do more from the far side? The scoreboard starting to get away from the Indian. But she gets the serve back with Chen going long on the clear.

Chen Yufei 21-17, 14-12 PV Sindhu: Sindhu misses a backhand, Chen creeping ahead but the run of points ends at 5. But Sindhu goes wide with the crosscourt again...

Chen Yufei 21-17, 12-11 PV Sindhu: Well that is not ideal! Brilliant from Chen after the interval and she goes into the lead as Sindhu gets a review wrong. That is a classic Sindhu review, with momentum on Chen’s side.

Chen Yufei 21-17, 8-11 PV Sindhu: A roar from Sindhu as Chen’s turn to miss a forehand by a fair distance and the Indian takes a 11-8 into the 2nd game interval. Can she force a decider?

Chen Yufei 21-17, 5-9 PV Sindhu: Better intensity from Sindhu and she is clearly upped the pace too. Coach Park egging her on, she is egging herself on. Good stuff.

Chen Yufei 21-17, 2-3 PV Sindhu: Huzzah, a good review from Sindhu nice and early in the second game. Better side already! A nice rally at 1-2 finishes with a sharp kill at the net by Sindhu. Then lucky net chord for Chen this time. Maybe that too is because of the side?

Chen Yufei 21-17 PV Sindhu: A review gone wrong for Chen, and it sees Sindhu save a second game point. But the Chinese star does take the opening game. Good news for Sindhu is, she will now get to play from evidently her favourable side and hope to take it to the decider. For the less-favourable side, 17-21 is not bad on paper. Needs a strong start here though.

Chen Yufei 20-16 PV Sindhu: Just a mini comeback that, as it turned out to be. Sindhu just appears to be a little flat-footed today. Game points for Chen, but Sindhu saves on after a good rally.

Chen Yufei 17-15 PV Sindhu: Uff, Sindhu’s best weapon arguably these days. The round-the-head, inside-out crosscourt.

Chen Yufei 17-14 PV Sindhu: Oh, brilliant defence by Chen. Sindhu should have put that point away after a good smash but Chen sends it back and Sindhu’s kill at the net is not sharp enough. She shows good power next point, followed by an error by Chen. Sindhu closing in.

Chen Yufei 15-10 PV Sindhu: Couple of good points for Sindhu immediately after the break but Chen takes control back immediately for a big lead. A third lucky net chord for the Indian gets her the serve back.

Chen Yufei 11-7 PV Sindhu: Another shot from Sindhu that misses the sidelines rather comfortably. The drift has played a part all through last two weeks in Bangkok. A handy lead for Chen into the interval.

Chen Yufei 10-7 PV Sindhu: What did Chen Yufei have for breakfast?! Two amazing challenges to overturn decisions already. Sindhu must be feeling a little envy I would imagine. It is NOT one of her strongsuits.. as we see at the end of a lovely long rally right on cue!

Chen Yufei 8-5 PV Sindhu: Good little run of points for Chen here. Sindhu’s radar yet to start functioning properly. Lines being missed. She gets the serve back with a lucky net chord.

Chen Yufei 5-4 PV Sindhu: Both players using the crosscourt shorts to good effect early on.

Chen Yufei 3-3 PV Sindhu: Length issues for Sindhu early on here, the lifts going long or wide. Gets the serve back with a delightful round-the-head crosscourt slice that we saw a lot of yesterday too.

Chen Yufei 0-2 PV Sindhu: Sindhu chooses the near side to start with as she did in the match against Akane yesterday, a sign that she is probably expecting a three-game battle here and wants to finish on the better end.

PV Sindhu time. A 11th meeting coming up against Chen Yufei, first since December 2019 as Sindhu recently recalled that she hasn’t played the Olympic champion for a while.

What a WS semifinal line up we have today.

World No 2 Tai Tzu Ying vs former world champion Ratchanok Intanon

But first, Olympic Champion Chen Yufei vs former world champion PV Sindhu

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Thailand Open Super 500 semifinal in Bangkok between India’s PV Sindhu and reigning Olympic champion Chen Yufei from China.

On Friday Sindhu prevailed in a topsy-turvy battle against world No 1 Akane Yamaguchi. It was not the highest quality performance by either player, given the standards they have set, but Sindhu was comfortably the better player on the day against an off-colour Yamaguchi as she extended the Head-to-Head record to 14-9 against her Japanese rival.

The reward for Sindhu is a match-up that we haven’t seen in a while, as the Indian herself recounted in a BWF interview recently. Chen Yufei, the Olympic champion, will offer a stiff test but Sindhu has had a good record against her in the past, leading 6-4 on H2H even though they last played at the end of 2019.


Screenshots in the blog courtesy Tournament Software / Viacom18