Birmingham: Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu reached the women’s singles semifinals at the Commonwealth Games 2022 after seeing off a tough challenge from Malaysian No 1 Goh Jin Wei in the quarter-finals, here on Saturday.
Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, beat Goh Jin Wei 19-21, 21-14, 21-18 at the National Exhibition Centre for her second win over the Malaysian at CWG 2022. She had beaten the Youth Olympic Games champion 22-20, 21-17 in India’s mixed team final earlier in the week.
Former world champion Sindhu started the match strongly but Goh Jin Wei, seeded sixth, went into the break trailing by just two points. Goh Jin Wei then used her skillful drop shots to trouble PV Sindhu and lead for the first time in the match at 16-15.
The Indian ace tried to mount a comeback using her height to create angles but Goh Jin Wei unleashed a flurry of smashes to take the opening game.
Sindhu, known for her endurance, amped up her game to tire out Goh Jin Wei with longer rallies and lead 11-8 at the second break. Goh Jin Wei, who is on a comeback trail after retiring due to health reasons last year, struggled physically and could not close the gap as the match stretched into the decider.
With tactics paying off, Sindhu continued to test Goh Jin Wei physically with an average of nine shots per rally. Despite trailing at one stage, she persisted to beat Jin Wei in one hour and 17 minutes.
This will be Sindhu’s third straight semi-finals at the Commonwealth Games. She has a bronze and a silver from the 2014 and 2018 editions, respectively. The 27-year old will now take on the fourth seed Yeo Jia Min from Singapore for a place in the final.
World championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth and India’s highest-ranked men’s badminton player Lakshya Sen will be in action later in the day in the men’s singles badminton event.
(IANS)
