Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu progressed to the women’s singles semi-finals of the Thailand Open after knocking out Malaysia’s Soniia Cheah in straight games in Bangkok on Friday.
The second seeded Indian was at her best during a 21-17, 21-13 win over world no 35 Cheah in a 36-minute clash. The world no 3 will next face Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.
The drift in the hall created troubles for both the shuttlers, who struggled with the length of their strokes as the match began. Sindhu was erratic initially and Cheah led 11-7 at the first interval.
After the break, Sindhu slowly started dominating the proceedings and reeled off five points to lead 13-12. The Indian started putting pressure on the Malaysian with her attacking game and grabbed four game points when Cheah hit long. Cheah saved one game point before Sindhu sealed the first game with a smash.
After the change of ends, Sindhu moved to a 6-3 lead but Cheah came back to level at 8-8 after the Indian committed a few unforced errors.
Sindhu managed to grab a 11-9 lead at the interval before taking nine straight points to zoom to surge ahead. Cheah managed to stay alive by saving three match points before Sindhu sealed her progress with a stunning smash.
