Olympic silver medallist P.V. Sindhu battled past Chinese Sun Yu to win her first BWF Superseries Premier title at the China Open badminton tournament.

The Indian seventh seed won the first game 21-11 but lost the next 17-21 before registering a 21-11 triumph in the final game to clinch the title.

The final lasted an hour and nine minutes. It was 21-year-old Sindhu’s maiden title. This win also was double World Championships bronze medallist Sindhu’s third in six games against Sun.

Sindhu looked on the offensive from the beginning and quickly raced to a 7-2 lead that became 11-6 at the mid-game interval.

Moving sharply within court, she showed her repertoire of strokes to bag five consecutive points that made it 17-7. She then comfortably won the first game 21-11.

Going by Sun’s performance in the first game, it seemed like Sindhu will seal the match in the second game. But it wasn’t to be.

Sindhu continued her strong game and led 11-7. But 2014 Asian Games champion Sun slowly upped her game and the home crowd did play a part in her revival.

She matched the Indian stroke for stroke and equalised at 14-all with the help of a six-point streak which also gave her the lead at 16-14. Then, Sindhu made it 17-all but Sun bagged the game by taking four straight points.

In the final game, the momentum shifted as Sindhu again went on an attacking spree. Her ability to play long rallies wore down Sun, who even though she fought hard till the six-point mark, Sun crumbled under pressure.

Sindhu then hardly looked back, rattling points one after another to sit at a 16-9 advantage. Thereafter, it was a cakewalk for the Indian.

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Meanwhile, fourth seed Jan ‘O’ Jorgensen of Denmark shocked the home crowd when he defeated 2016 Olympic champion Chen Long of China 22-20, 21-13 in 46 minutes.

It was the Dane’s only second win in 10 encounters against two-time reigning world champion Long.

Denmark, however, missed out on the men’s doubles title as Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen lost to Indonesians Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 18-21, 20-22.

The women’s doubles title went to the South Korean pair of Lee So Hee and Chang Ye Na, who overcame Li Yinhui and Huang Dongping of China 13-21, 21-14, 21-17 in an hour and 30 minutes.

Yinhui lost in the mixed doubles final too. She and Zhang Na lost to Indoensians Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir 13-21, 24-22, 21-16.

PV Sindhu is not one to sit on her laurels. The Rio Olympics silver-medallist has once again punched above her ranking to beat the sixth ranked Sung Ji Hyun of South Korea 11-21, 23-21, 21-19 and booked her place in the China Open Super Series final.

The Hyderabad shuttler saved three match points in the second game and fought off Sung in the decider to make her only second entry in any Super Series final in one hour and 23 minutes. 

In a heart-stopping decider, Sindhu finally won with a cross court smash after the hawk eye negated Sung’s challenge. In the first game the Korean shuttler dominated Sindhu and pocketed easily. But Sindhu smashed her way back into the match to win the second game after being three match-points down.

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Sindhu will now take on China’s own Sun Yu in Sunday’s final, whom she trails 2-3 in head-to-head. 

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal made her comeback after a long injury lay off but unfortunately crashed out in the first round itself. There’s seems to be no stopping Sindhu though, who became the first Indian women to clinch a silver medal at the Olympics.

Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu won her opening match while Saina Nehwal crashed out in the first round of the women’s singles category on a mixed day for Indians at the China Open badminton tournament at the Haixia Olympic Sport Center on Wednesday.

Sindhu coasted to a 21-12, 21-16 win over Chia Hsin Lee of Taiwan in her round of 16 match.

Sindhu, who took the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics earlier this year, will face Beiwen Zhang of Singapore in the quarter-finals.

Zhang defeated Ya Ching Hsu of Taiwan 21-16, 21-18 in her campaign opener.

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Sindhu is playing her first tournament since the Rio Olympics. Saina meanwhile, lost to Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand in a hard fought encounter.

The London Olympics bronze medallist lost the opening game before staging a strong fightback to win the second game and level the scores.

Porntip, however, dominated the third and decisive game to script a 21-16, 19-21, 21-14 win.

Porntip will now take on He Bingjiao of China in her next match. He defeated compatriot Zhang Yiman 20-22, 21-17, 21-19.

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Saina was playing her first tournament since recovering from a knee surgery she underwent in August after the Rio Olympics. Indians had mixed results in the men’s singles section as well.

H.S. Prannoy entered the quarter-finals following an easy 21-13, 21-13 win over Ka Long Angus Ng of Hong Kong.

Prannoy will take on Bin Qiao of China in the last eight stage. Qiao outclassed Tien Chen Chou of Taiwan 21-11, 21-13 in a one-sided affair.

In another men’s singles match, Ajay Jayaram went down 21-19, 20-22, 21-17 to Zhu Siyuan of China in an exciting encounter.

IANS