OLYMPICS WS QF – 4th August hot streak for Sindhu

For the fourth straight year, India’s Pusarla Venkata Sindhu blew away a top Chinese opponent in the biggest event of the summer, as she ousted 2nd-seeded Wang Yihan in two close games on Tuesday evening.

By Don Hearn.  Photos: Yves Lacroix for Badmintonphoto (live)

It may seem to any who fail to look closely that Pusarla Venkata Sindhu (pictured) of India is really dominant over the top Chinese players.  Actually, all three veterans – Li Xuerui, Wang Yihan, and Wang Shixian – have winning records against the tall 21-year-old, but when it comes to the big August events, she suddenly becomes a sort of queen of the court.  When badminton becomes the summer centre of attention, China’s aces can’t touch Sindhu.

Actually, you might say it even began before she pulled off back-to-back upsets at the 2013 World Championships on the Chinese home ground.  Her only event way back in 2012 was the Asian Junior Championships, when she celebrated her 17th birthday by beating fellow giant Sun Yu for the first time.

Since Guangzhou in 2013, Sindhu has repeated her feat, beating Wang Shixian again in August 2014 and then Li Xuerui at the 2015 Worlds.  Now, she’s taken the pattern into the Olympics and it could well translate into a medal.

Sindhu squeezed out the first game against Wang Yihan (pictured bottom) 22-20 but had only marginally more breathing room in the second game, which she won 21-19 to book her spot in the semi-finals.  The challenge for the now more seasoned player is to take that momentum into a final.

Sindhu’s opponent on Thursday will be Nozomi Okuhara (pictured right) of Japan.  Facing her compatriot Akane Yamaguchi, she was the only quarter-final winner to require a third game.

The other semi-final will feature two-time World Champion Carolina Marin against defending Olympic gold medallist Li Xuerui.  Marin kept Sung Ji Hyun at arm’s length, not getting anywhere near the peril Sung put her in last August at the Worlds.

Li Xuerui (pictured left) also had a history of vulnerability against her opponent, Porntip Buranaprasertsuk but while the Thai had pushed the world #3 to a third game or at least to extra points in each of their four other encounters this year, their showdown in Rio was much more one-sided.  Li took it 21-12, 21-17.

The remaining women’s singles quartet now take a day off while the men decide their semi-finalists and mixed doubles gold is awarded.  The semi-finals will begin bright and early at 8:30AM Thursday.

Click here for complete Tuesday results