Nanjing (China): Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu claimed a second successive World Championships final spot after seeing off a fighting Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in straight games at the women's singles semifinals here on Saturday. Sindhu, who had finished runners-up at the Glasgow edition last year after losing to another Japanese Nozomi Okuhara, notched up a superb 21-16, 24-22 win over world number two Yamaguchi in a 54-minute hard-fought match. Ahead of the match, Sindhu had a 6-4 head-to-head record against Yamaguchi, who had defeated the Indian in big-ticket events such as All England Championship this year and Dubai Superseries Final last year. The duo faced off twice this year with each registering a win. The 23-year-old from Hyderabad, who also won two bronze medals in 2013 and 2014, will face Olympic champion and former two-time gold medallist Carolina Marin of Spain on Sunday. Marin had robbed Sindhu off a gold medal at the Rio Olympics after defeating the Indian in the summit clash. Overall, Marin has a 6-5 advantage over Sindhu, who had beaten the Spaniard in their last encounter at the Malaysia Open in June.<doc-sep>A new men's singles champion on Sunday BWF World Badminton Championships 2018: PV Sindhu sets up title clash with Carolina Marin NEW DELHI: PV Sindhu made a stunning recovery to waltz into the second consecutive World Championships final. Living up to her billing as the big tournament player, the 23-year-old ousted Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-16, 24-22 in the 55-minute contest.Despite conceding big leads, Sindhu displayed tremendous grit to make unbelievable comeback, particularly in the second game. Trailing 12-19 in the second, with her rival needing just two points to push the match into the decider, Sindhu came up with an eight-point burst to move to match point.Such a recovery is rare at any stage of the tournament but Sindhu managed that in the high-voltage semi-final.Mixing net dribbles with straight line smashes, Sindhu capitalised on the casual approach of her opponent in the dying stages of the second game. At 20-19, a net chord saved Yamaguchi. Having scored a crucial point, Yamaguchi came up with a body smash and once again the net chord fetched her another point.At 21-20, Yamaguchi made one of the silliest errors, which she may not forget for a long time, as she served to the wrong side of the court.She hit the next one wide but got back into the match after winning a 41-shot rally, the longest of the match. At 22-22, Yamaguchi erred twice, hitting the shuttle out as Sindhu pumped her fists in the air celebrating a well-deserved victory.Even in the first game, Sindhu fought back from 0-5 and 4-8 deficits. But the lanky shuttler looked confident throughout the match.Meanwhile, it will be a repeat of the Olympic final on Sunday as Sindhu will face Carolina Marin of Spain.The two-time world champion recovered after losing the first game to dominate He Binjiao 21-16, 24-22 in the next two games. Marin has a 6-5 win-loss record against Sindhu but the Indian had won the last meeting at the Malaysian Open this June.“I hope it will be a better result than last time. I think overall it's been a good win today. I have to prepare well and get back tomorrow. I did not employ any new tactic today, we know each other's game. "I was patient enough on court and consistent. I was prepared for long matches because the Japanese are good rally players and many strokes last 40-50 hits. You have to be on court all the time. "Even when I was trailing 12-19, I was determined to fight till the last point and it worked," said Sindhu, adding that she is expecting another tough final against Marin. "Carolina is not an easy player. I have to fight out and work hard for every point. Carolina is quite aggressive at this tournament," Sindhu said.Lauding Sindhu, her coach Pullela Gopichand said. “She fought hard and attacked at the right time. A very good performance today.”There will be a new men's singles world champion on Sunday as Kento Momota clashes with local hope Shi Yuqi in the final.In the semi-finals, sixth seed Japanese shuttler Momota made short work of Daren Liew of China 21-16, 21-15. Liew was never in the contest as Momota dominated him throughout the 38th-minute tie. The talented shuttler, who made a brilliant comeback after serving a one-and-half year ban for gambling, is the favourite to win the title.In the other last-four clash, Yuqi got the better of Olympic champion and senior compatriot Chen Long 21-11, 21-17.<doc-sep>Star Indian shuttler P V Sindhu beat Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in straight games to cruise into the semifinals and assure herself of a medal in the World Championships here on Friday. Sindhu defeated Okuhara 21-17, 21-19 in a 58-minute quarterfinal match to set up a semifinal clash against World No. 2 and another Japanese Akane Yamaguchi on Saturday. The World No. 3 Indian produced a dominant display against her World No. 6 rival as she avenged her defeat in the last edition summit clash. In both the games, Okuhara led initially but Sindhu was able to come back to take the honours. Sindhu had lost to Okuhara in the final last year 19-21 22-20 20-22 but on Friday, it was the India who got the upper hand throughout the match. Read More Catch all the action from the semi-final between PV Sindhu and Akane Yamaguchi through News18 Sports' live blog.Star Indian shuttler P V Sindhu beat Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in straight games to cruise into the semifinals and assure herself of a medal in the World Championships here on Friday. Sindhu defeated Okuhara 21-17, 21-19 in a 58-minute quarterfinal match to set up a semifinal clash against World No. 2 and another Japanese Akane Yamaguchi on Saturday. The World No. 3 Indian produced a dominant display against her World No. 6 rival as she avenged her defeat in the last edition summit clash. In both the games, Okuhara led initially but Sindhu was able to come back to take the honours. Sindhu had lost to Okuhara in the final last year 19-21 22-20 20-22 but on Friday, it was the India who got the upper hand throughout the match. Aug 04, 2018 19:27 (IST) SINDHU ENTERS FINAL: And that's it. Sindhu has managed to get past Akane Yamaguchi 21-16, 24-22. The Indian will face Carolina Marin in the final. Aug 04, 2018 19:26 (IST) This is unbelievable stuff from these two girls. In a longish rally Yamaguchi saved a match point. This has been a great match so far. It's 23-22 for the Indian at the moment. Aug 04, 2018 19:20 (IST) Make it 19-19. Sindhu is not letting this opportunity slip from her hand. Now she is in complete control. Aug 04, 2018 19:19 (IST) Exceptional smash from Sindhu down the line reduces the deficit to just two points. Yamaguchi leads 17-19. Can Sindhu win from here? Aug 04, 2018 19:17 (IST) Sindhu gets two consecutive points to stay alive in the match as she plays shots on the base line. Yamaguchi leads 15-19. Aug 04, 2018 19:15 (IST) Yamguchi is doing well now and attacking Sindhu's net now. She has taken a healthy seven point lead. It's 19-12 for the Japanese. Aug 04, 2018 19:12 (IST) This is trouble calling for Sindhu as she is making far too many unforced errors down the line. She needs to regain control of this match. It's 15-11 for Yamaguchi. Aug 04, 2018 19:07 (IST) The cross-court rallies have been excellent from both the players. It's just a matter of who comes up to the net first and takes a smash. Till now Yamaguchi has been successful in doing that in this game. She leads 11-7 at the mid-game interval. Aug 04, 2018 19:04 (IST) Sindhu has looked a bit defensive in her approach in the second game. She is allowing Yamaguchi to settle down and play her shots. But the Japanese girl is just playing the waiting game. She leads 8-6. Aug 04, 2018 19:01 (IST) The pace of the game has somewhat slowed. The rallies are now longer than they were in the first. But as has been the norm, Sindhu has not started the game well. The Indian trails 3-6. Aug 04, 2018 18:58 (IST) Sindhu gets her first point on the board. Right after that she commits an error on the net. That means that the Japanese girl leads 3-1 in the second game. Aug 04, 2018 18:56 (IST) Yamaguchi has relied on her defence a lot today but that ploy has not worked for her. Meanwhile, she starts with two points in the second game. It's 2-0 for Yamaguchi. Aug 04, 2018 18:54 (IST) Sindhu pockets the first game with utmost ease 21-16. This has been a brilliant display till now by the Indian as she has moved well on the court and not given her opponent to attack. Aug 04, 2018 18:50 (IST) It just keeps getting better by Sindhu. She is in a relentless mood today. She is smashing away her way to glory. After a wobbly start of 0-5, Sindhu leads 19-13 in the first game. Aug 04, 2018 18:48 (IST) And now the time has come when Sindhu is starting to take control of the match. Suddenly she has taken the game away from Yamaguchi and taken five consecutive points. The Indian leads 16-12. Aug 04, 2018 18:46 (IST) Sindhu draws level yet again with a powerful smash. Sindhu is keeping things tight in one direction and surprising the opponent by a powerful smash on the other. It's 12-12 at the moment. Good play by Sindhu. Aug 04, 2018 18:43 (IST) Sindhu has been brilliant with her shots on the net from the mid-court. That has troubled the Japanese girl. At the mid-game interval Yamaguchi leads 11-10 and for a change Sindhu has started well in a match. Aug 04, 2018 18:40 (IST) The match is moving at a rapid pace as both players are engaging in shorter rallies. The key for Sindhu will be to play bigger rallies. But the Indian gets three points on the trot and makes it 8-8. Aug 04, 2018 18:37 (IST) Sindhu gets her first point on the board through an unforced error by the Japanese. That is followed by a couple of more such mistakes. Indian making a comeback here. It's 6-3 for Yamaguchi. Aug 04, 2018 18:35 (IST) Yamaguchi is using the same tactics as Okuhara and targeting Sindhu's body. The result is that the Japanese girl leads 5-0 in the first game. This is a great start by Yamaguchi.<doc-sep>PV Sindhu will play her second consecutive World Championship final on Sunday. She has won one silver (2017) and two bronze (2013, 14) medals. (Source; AP) PV Sindhu will play her second consecutive World Championship final on Sunday. She has won one silver (2017) and two bronze (2013, 14) medals. (Source; AP) The only thing more spectacular in sport than just winning, is a glorious comeback. 12-19 down against Akane Yamaguchi at Nanjing’s World Championships semifinals in the second set with the Japanese threatening to push the match in the decider, PV Sindhu dictated such an audacious resurgence to pick 7 straight points, that her gait topped 6 feet adding almost inches of confidence to her 5’11 frame as she strutted into the final. This 21-16, 24-22 victory was a commanding entry into the summit clash where she plays Olympic champion Carolina Marin, not looking like a mere contender sniffing an outside chance, but an equal claimant to the World throne, breathing red fire. A repeat of the Olympic final this may well be, but this won’t be the same Indian that the Spaniard faces. Fortified by back-to-back matches against the Japanese where she beat the game’s two strongest retrievers in two days coming from behind – Sindhu has found inside herself the confidence to rebound from every trailing position. Against Okuhara in the quarters, she trailed 3-7 in the first set, 3-9 in the second. Against Yamaguchi, she started 0-5 down and stared at a 12-19 lead just as the Japanese was beginning to assert her game, and push Sindhu into the familiar throes of deceiving after flattering. But she refused to slump her shoulders, mixed her strokes sensibly, countered Yamaguchi’s deception on the backhand, and lunged with such assurance that coach Gopichand was left impressed and hardly sported worry lines at the break where she trailed 7-11. “The way she played yesterday , the lead wasn’t much. All she needed to do was keep it simple, firm, and solid and avoid Yamaguchi’s backhand on which she was getting some good variations at the net,” he said of the 7-point rally that snuffed out Yamaguchi’s desperate bid to drag this into a decider. READ | Against Carolina Marin, a Rio-esque match on the cards A crosscourt smash in the finishing stages was a statement of intent at 20-all, but Sindhu’s sheer audacity in looking the 12-19 difference in the eye, threw Yamaguchi off as the Indian coolly went about slashing at the lead. A nod of the head to the coach behind her that said ‘don’t worry’ and Sindhu was off. This comeback was the Kolkata Test of 2001, or more in the realm of string-racquet weapons, Roger Federer’s summoning of the back-hand shot that was the game-changer against Nadal in the 2017 Australian Open. Hitting it early, on the rise, at 1-3 down in the fifth set, Federer had oozed confidence and broken Nadal’s resolve. Yamaguchi looked equally broken. Up for the challenge In athletics terms, PV Sindhu was ready for the marathon, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t sprint the 100 metres. If being denied a gold medal in 2017 can push you to train for the whole gamut – bolster your defense, sharpen the strokes, then Sindhu can thank Okuhara for making her a complete player. One of the first things that Sindhu’s team did immediately after the Glasgow epic loss, was prepare her to run badminton’s equivalent of a marathon. “Her strategy all this time had been to use her endurance for her style of play – her strategy used to be to wear down the opponent, and rely on them tiring to get her win. But this World Championship, I see her taking the initiative,” Aparna Popat says. It’s age-old in badminton to preserve energy in the second for the decider. But this World’s, Sindhu knew she could last in the third, and had trained so devastatingly hard, that she pushed herself in the second set knowing she’d still have enough fuel in the tank for an equally rigorous third. “In terms of tactics, I still had hope when I was down in the second set till the last point that it wasn’t over from my side. Even though she was leading 19-13, I still thought let me try and I kept on trying. Finally I finished it off in two sets,” she said triumphantly. “She’s taking the initiative. The last two years she wasn’t going for her shots and landing them with the intent of closing out. But this week, she’s moving better,” she added. A steeplechaser, willing to jump high over every hurdle. “Her confidence is so high and it’s down to some solid training she’s put in,” Aravind Bhat said. “I’d say she has a slight edge in the final just based on that confidence.” This confidence reflected in many ways – she handled all the pressure points much better than the Japanese, even when down 20-21. Sindhu had cut down on mistakes in the crunch, but more importantly her winners far out-numbered Yamaguchi’s errors. “Brilliant win, and Sindhu deserves a lot of credit,” Vimal Kumar said, adding, “she never got frustrated.” When confident, the tall Sindhu looks even more taller. Her deep back clears on Saturday at Nanjing were the biggest sign of her confidence. She struck such a perfect length that for two straight days now the Japanese have struggled to get under the shuttle, and have always looked a second too late to react on the overhead. There was coincidence to go with this confidence. In the 2012 Asian Junior Championships, PV Sindhu had defeated Okuhara and Yamaguchi in back to back wins for the title, just as India was readying for its first Olympic medal. At Gimcheon in South Korea, a young callow Sindhu had stunned fellow teen Yamaguchi. The score then too was Sindhu 12-19 down. The confidence is back, and so is Sindhu in badminton’s biggest final.<doc-sep>
Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu continued her incredible run of form in the World Championships, earning a second successive final spot after seeing off Japan's Akane Yamaguchi at the women's singles semifinals on Saturday. World No. 3 Sindhu, who had finished runners-up at the Glasgow edition last year after losing to another Japanese Nozomi Okuhara in an epic summit showdown, notched up a superb 21-16, 24-22 win over World No. 2 Yamaguchi in a 55-minute hard-fought match. "It was a good match overall. I hope this time it would be a better result than the last time. I have to prepare well for tomorrow, so it's not yet over," Sindhu said after the match. Sindhu entered the match with a 6-4 head-to-head record against Yamaguchi, who had defeated the Indian in big-ticket events such as All England Championship this year and Dubai Superseries Final last year. The duo faced off twice this year with each registering a win. Sindhu looked a bit nervous and took time to get into the groove, resulting in Yamaguchi racing away to a 5-0 lead. The Indian earned the first point with a precise smash but a couple of wide strokes on both sides of the court helped the Japanese move to 6-3. At 4-8, Sindhu reeled off five straight points to grab a 9-8 lead. However, the Japanese managed to hold a slender 11-10 lead at the break after Sindhu failed to cross the net. After the breather, Sindhu stepped up her retrieving skills and covered the court better as Yamaguchi tried to put the shuttle close to the lines and ended up committing many unforced errors. At 10-12, Sindhu rode on eight straight points to reach 18-12. However, she went out twice and also sent the shuttle long once to allow Yamaguchi to make a recovery. However, the Indian eventually grabbed four-game points after capitalising on a weak return from the Japanese and converted it immediately when Yamaguchi faltered at the forecourt. "We know each other's game, we play very often, we played at the All England Championship. So we needed to be patient and consistent to win. I was prepared for long matches because both Yamaguchi and Okuhara are very good players and can go on and on in the rallies," Sindhu said. Just like the opening game, Sindhu again lagged 2-6 initially in the second game, before the Indian managed to reduce the gap to 7-8. But after Sindhu went out Yamaguchi unleashed a whipping cross court smash and one at the backcourt to move to the interval with an 11-7 advantage. The Japanese extended the lead to 14-9 with two precise smashes. But she went long thrice after that and Sindhu too found the net twice. It was 16-12 advantage for Yamaguchi at that point. Sindhu then scripted an incredible recovery from 12-19, reeling off eight straight points to grab one match point. Yamaguchi saved one before holding a game point herself. However, the Japanese goofed up during the service to squander her advantage. After another intense rally, Yamaguchi went long to hand over Sindhu a second match point but what ensued next was the longest rally of the contest, comprising 41 shots, which ended with Sindhu hitting wide. However, Yamaguchi hit wide again to gift Sindhu her third match point and this time she converted it after the Japanese went wide again. The 23-year-old from Hyderabad, who also won two bronze medals in 2013 and 2014, will face Olympic champion and former two-time gold medallist Carolina Marin of Spain on Sunday. Marin had robbed Sindhu off a gold medal at the Rio Olympics after defeating the Indian in the summit clash. Overall, Marin has a 6-5 advantage over Sindhu, who had beaten the Spaniard in their last encounter at the Malaysia Open in June. Promoted "Tomorrow is going to be an aggressive match. Again we know each other's game, so no easy matches, no easy points, just have to turn up and give my best tomorrow," Sindhu said. Marin on Saturday beat Chinese eighth seed He Bingjiao 13-21, 21-16, 21-13 to make her third World Championship final.