PV Sindhu edged Carolina Marin in a hard-fought final to take the 2017 Yonex Sunrise Indian Open title 21-19 21-16 at the Siri Fort in New Delhi.
The Hyderabadi started off strong, storming to an early 6-1 lead in first game as she combined aggression with some deft touches to leave Marin reeling.
However, Marin was resilient, scoring a flurry of points in a row, taking points off Sindhu at inopportune moments to leave the Indian with a two-point lead halfway through the first game.
After the breather, Marin cranked up the pressure even further as she adjusted to the pace of the game and even took the lead at 18-17 before Sindhu levelled it up at 19-all. The Indian, then, made no mistake... taking the last two points of the game to win the first game 21-19.
The second, started much like the first, as Sindhu once again built up a 6-2 lead but Marin, being Marin, stormed her way back into the match some uncharacteristic errors saw her go into the break 11-7.
Sindhu continued in the same vein of form, never once letting her grip of the game go as she closed out the match in 47 minutes.
With this, the head-to-head record between the two Olympic finalists stands at 5-5 now. Tonight, a much-improved Sindhu played aggressively to counter her tricky opponent.