Report: Indian shuttler PV Sindhu registered the third consecutive win to top the women's singles of Group A in the World Superseries Finals at the Hamadan Sports Complex on Friday.
Olympic medallist Sindhu eased past World No 3 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-9, 21-13 in 36 minutes.
Coming into the match, both Sindhu and Yamaguchi had already secured their positions in the semi-finals, eliminating the other two players in the group, Japanese Sayaka Sato and China's He Bingjiao.
"Happy to win the match today and top the group..waiting for the draw to be out tonight," Sindhu wrote on Twitter after her game.
Sayaka defeated Bingjiao 21-18, 21-16 in 32 minutes to get a consolation win.
From Group B, Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon and Chen Yufei of China were through to the semi-finals. Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying and South Korean Sung ji Hyun were eliminated.
Indian men's singles star Kidambi Srikanth lost to Chinese Shi Yuqi 17-21, 21-19, 14-21 in an hour and 14 minutes. It was Srikanth's third consecutive defeat which makes it an unforgettable maiden outing for him.
Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Yuqi advanced to the semi-finals from this group.
In the other group, Malaysian veteran Lee Chong Wei and South Korean Son Wan Ho moved into the last four stage.
With inputs from IANS
Published Date: Dec 16, 2017 05:33 pm | Updated Date: Dec 16, 2017 06:54 pm
Highlights
Akane Yamaguchi comes from a 14-18 deficit in the decider to win the match 17-21, 21-12, 21-19. A 72-minute thriller of a semi-final that has been probably one of the best matches of the tournament. Yamaguchi is in the Final.
An amazing display of badminton by both these champion shuttlers. WHAT A GAME!!!
Yamaguchi wins 21-12! in the 2nd game to enforce a decider. Intanon manages to salvage a few points to make the second scoreline look better, but it was a Yamaguchi show through and through with her deceptive points getting better with every point.
Former World Champion Ratchanok Intanon clinches the first game 21-17 in 24 minutes. Yamaguchi fought back harder in the final few points of the game but the Thai shuttler was up for the late onslaught and held her nerves till the end.
Today's matches
Akane Yamaguchi vs Ratchanok Intanon
Shi Yuqi vs Viktor Axelsen
PV Sindhu vs Chen Yufei
Lee Chong Wei vs Son Wan Ho
18:54 (IST)
Akane Yamaguchi comes from a 14-18 deficit in the decider to win the match 17-21, 21-12, 21-19. A 72-minute thriller of a semi-final that has been probably one of the best matches of the tournament. Yamaguchi is in the Final.
An amazing display of badminton by both these champion shuttlers. WHAT A GAME!!!
18:50 (IST)
20-18! What a rally!!!!! And what a way to reach match point. Six straight points for Yamaguchi to go one point closer to reach the summit clash of the Dubai World Superseries Finals
18:48 (IST)
18-18! Four straight points by Yamaguchi to level the scores at an all-important phase of the match. Both players will now look to attack and unsettle the opponent and run away with the match
18:47 (IST)
18:45 (IST)
18-14! That was one deliciously deceptive drop shot from Intanon to continue testing the Japanese shuttler. Intanon wins the point and the collective gasps from the crowd
18:44 (IST)
17-14! Intanon with unforced errors of her own. However she still is in the lead and Yamaguchi will not be relying on Intanon to slip up to win the decider
18:42 (IST)
16-11! The unforced errors from Yamaguchi seems to be not stopping as Intanon is using it all to her advantage to maintain the lead in the decider
18:40 (IST)
14-10! Seven straight points for Intanon as she looks to consolidate the lead as Yamaguchi makes a couple of unforced errors against the Thai shuttler who has been in glorious touch
18:38 (IST)
18:36 (IST)
10-9! Another good rally and Intanon manages to end on the right side of that point yet again to reduce the gap between her and Yamaguchi in the decider.
18:33 (IST)
7-7! What a rally! Yamaguchi is forced to make two dives to retrieve Intanon's attempts at winning the point with decisive shots. But the World No 2 fails to return one as Intanon levels the scores once again in the decider
18:32 (IST)
7-6! Three straight points for Yamaguchi now who takes the lead in the decider which has seen fluctuating fortunes for both these champion shuttlers
18:31 (IST)
18:30 (IST)
4-4! Excellent challenge there by Intanon to reverse the referee's call of "IN" to win the point and level the scores
18:27 (IST)
3-0! Yamaguchi in the lead and she played that point to perfection pushing Intanon all over the court before delivering that killer winner
18:24 (IST)
Yamaguchi wins 21-12! in the 2nd game to enforce a decider. Intanon manages to salvage a few points to make the second scoreline look better, but it was a Yamaguchi show through and through with her deceptive points getting better with every point.
18:19 (IST)
17-9! Intanon was slowly rising up the points tally, but an indecision results in an meek underarm shot getting smashed down hard by Yamaguchi who still holds a comfortable lead
18:17 (IST)
18:15 (IST)
14-3! Yamaguchi has won twelve points out of the last 13. Such has been her dominance in the second game. The decider seems to be definitely on the cards now.
18:13 (IST)
11-2! A nine-point advantage for Yamaguchi at the interval. Intanon is visibly exhausted and will she give it her all in this game or conserve energy to fight it out in the decider?
18:11 (IST)
18:10 (IST)
6-2! What a soft deception from Yamaguchi to consolidate her lead over Intanon in the second game
18:09 (IST)
4-2! Yamaguchi with an early lead but Intanon is displaying immense temerity to test the young Japanese
18:07 (IST)
18:05 (IST)
Former World Champion Ratchanok Intanon clinches the first game 21-17 in 24 minutes. Yamaguchi fought back harder in the final few points of the game but the Thai shuttler was up for the late onslaught and held her nerves till the end.
18:02 (IST)
19-14! The first serve error from Intanon gives Yamguchi the serve but she fails to capitalise it as a deceptive winner by Intanon leaves the Japanese shuttler stranded in the middle of the court
17:59 (IST)
16-12! A well-contested rally there as Yamaguchi dictated the proceedings forcing Intanon to twist, turn and dive but ultimately the Thai shuttler lost the point after that smash by Yamaguchi
17:58 (IST)
16-11! Intanon displaying excellent judgment to leave that shot from Yamaguchi to go closer to winning the first game
17:57 (IST)
17:55 (IST)
12-10! Absolutely brilliant cross-court angled winner by Intanon to maintain the lead in the first game
17:52 (IST)
11-9! The experienced Intanon goes into the mid-game break with a two point advantage over the Japanese shuttler
17:49 (IST)
17:46 (IST)
Today's matches
Akane Yamaguchi vs Ratchanok Intanon
Shi Yuqi vs Viktor Axelsen
PV Sindhu vs Chen Yufei
Lee Chong Wei vs Son Wan Ho
17:42 (IST)
3-1! Intanon with the lead in the opening moments of the game. It is a match between two players with contrasting styles of play
17:41 (IST)
The women's singles semi-final action kick-starts with the match between Ratchanok Intanon and Akane Yamaguchi.
17:09 (IST)
Hello and welcome to Day 4 action at the Dubai World Superseries Premier. We are now done with the group stages and are now at the knockout stages
While the morning session had the doubles action, it is now time for the singles action.
With Kidambi Srikanth's ouster in the group stages, India's hopes rest on PV Sindhu who will face Chen Yufei in the second women's semi-final. In the first match of the second session, No 1 seed Akane Yamaguchi takes on Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon.
This match will be followed by the first men's singles semi-final between Viktor Axelsen and Shi Yuqi and the last match of the day will be a replay of yesterday's blockbuster match between Lee Chong Wei and Son Wan Ho.
Join us for the live score and updates from the semi-final action at the Dubai World Superseries Finals 2017