P V Sindhu, a double Olympic medalist, moved into the semifinals of the Malaysia Masters with a hard-fought victory over top seed Han Yue of China on Friday.
World No. 15 Sindhu rebounded from a mid-game slump to defeat sixth-ranked Han 21-13 14-21 21-12 in a 55-minute quarterfinal match to avenge her loss to the Chinese at the Asia Badminton Championships in Ningbo last month.
Sindhu, a former global champion, will now face either Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani or Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the final four stages.
In other news, Ashmita Chaliha’s impressive run ended in the quarterfinals with a 10-21 15-21 loss to sixth seed Zhang Yi Man of China. Sindhu, who last won the Singapore Open in 2022, gave a solid account of herself in the 55-minute match, breaking away from 3-3 in the first game to lead 11-5 at the break.
The Chinese gradually closed the gap to 13-16, but Sindhu scored the final five points in a row to win the first game.
Han, stung by the defeat, raced to a 5-0 lead after switching sides. Even as Sindhu battled, she continued to dominate the proceedings. As a result, she stormed out to a 15-2 lead, and despite the Indian’s fightback, Han easily won the match in the decider. Sindhu gathered her wits in the third game, opening up a large 11-3 lead at the break, which proved decisive as Han was unable to close the gap.
