Indian badminton player PV Sindhu pulled off a huge upset to defeat world No. 2 Yihan Wang of China 22-20 21-19 to enter the semi-finals of the women's singles event on Tuesday, putting herself in striking distance of a medal.
Yihan Wang took a 3-0 lead in the first game but Sindhu clawed back to make it 5-5. Sindhu used her long reach to her advantage and returned everything Yihan threw at her, but her Chinese opponent slowly crept into the lead and went ahead 11-8.
The 21-year-old from Hyderabad then staged an impressive comeback, winning a flurry of points to tie the game at 13-13 and even took the lead for the first time in the match at 15-14. Yihan caught up but a couple of unforced errors allowed Sindhu to speed away to a 20-18 lead and a great chance to take the game. Though Yihan levelled the score, a couple of unforced errors gave Sindhu a brilliant 22-20 victory in the first game.
Sindhu upped the ante in the second game, belying her world No. 10 ranking to take a 8-3 lead in the second game, combining deadly agility with reach. A fightback from Yihan ensued but Sindhu stayed calm to enter the break 11-8 ahead. She extended the lead further after the resumption, breaking away to a 18-13 lead before Yihan levelled the score again to make it 18-18.
The 21-year-old though kept her nerve to win the last three points and pull off a stunning upset, winning the second game 21-18. Sindhu will play Japan's Nozomi Okuhara, who defeated her compatriot Akane Yamaguchi, in the semi-finals at 5.50 pm IST on Thursday.