PV Sindhu squares off against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi in the semi-finals of All England Badminton Championships. Sindhu produced a brilliant performance to eke out a thrilling three-game victory over 2016 champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan to progress to her maiden semifinal on Friday. In head to head encounters, Sindhu has has won 6 out of the 9 previous matches. Olympic silver medallist shuttler Sindhu produced a brilliant performance to eke out a thrilling three-game victory over 2016 champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan to progress to her maiden semifinal. The quarterfinal clash lived up to its billing as Sindhu and Okuhara strained every sinew to dish out yet another nail-biting contest at the Arena Birmingham. It boiled down to finding the right balance of aggression and patience and Sindhu ensured that she had the last laugh as she outwitted Okuhara 20-22, 21-18, 21-18 in a battle that lasted an hour and 24 minutes.
Highlights of the All England Championships semi-final between PV Sindhu and Akane Yamaguchi from Birmingham
23:58 IST: It's all over. Sindhu loses in the semi-finals. She lost 21--19, 19-21, 18-21 to Akane Yamaguchi.
23:57 IST: Yamaguchi takes 19-18 lead against Sindhu.
23:52 IST: It's 16-all in the decider. Brilliant show by both shuttlers.
23:45 IST: Brilliant rally between the two shuttlers. Yamaguchi wins the battle in the end. Sindhu still leads 13-10.
23:44 IST: PV Sindhu goes into the break with 11-7 lead in the deciding game against Akane Yamaguchi
23:37 IST: Brilliant smash from Sindhu. She clinches the point and the lead too. She leads 8-5.
23:35 IST: Sindhu takes 6-3 lead against Yamaguchi.
23:33 IST: Challenge from Yamaguchi. But, it's unsuccessful. Sindhu leads 3-2 in the deciding game.
23:31 IST: Third and deciding game gets underway. Who will enter the final of the tournament - PV Sindhu or Akane Yamaguchi?
A tantalising deflection, pause and then drop off the net leaves Sindhu sprawling and gifts Yamaguchi the second set 21-19, so both players have scored the exact same number of points going into the third set! #YAE18
— Yonex All England (@YonexAllEngland) March 17, 2018
23:30 IST: PV Sindhu loses second game 19-21 against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi.
23:26 IST: Forced error from Sindhu. Yamaguchi takes 20-18 lead. Game point for the Japanese.
23:24 IST: What a game from Sindhu. She won back-to-back points and makes it 18-19 against Yamaguchi.
23:23 IST: Yamaguchi leads second game 13-16 against Sindhu. Can Sindhu make a comeback?
23:17 IST: Brilliant top shot from Sindhu. She trails her Japanese opponent 13-14.
23:16 IST: Sindhu makes it 12-12 in the second game. Can she dominate from here?
23:13 IST: PV Sindhu trails 9-11 at mid break in the second game.
23:10 IST: A solid backhand from Sindhu. It's 9-9 in the second game.
23:07 IST: Brilliant comeback from Sindhu. She takes 6-5 lead in style.
23:06 IST: Unforced error from Yamaguchi. She leads Sindhu 5-4.
23:04 IST: Aggressive start from Yamaguchi. She leads second game 3-2.
23:03 IST: The second game gets underway. Can Sindhu win the second game to seal to enter final?
23:01 IST: PV Sindhu wins opening game 21-19 against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi
First game to Sindhu#YonexAllEnglandOpen pic.twitter.com/v629dQjj8z
— kripesh (@kripesh) March 17, 2018
22:59 IST: Game point for Sindhu. She leads opening game 20-18.
22:58 IST: Two back-to-back points for Sindhu. The Indian leads 19-17 now.
22:57 IST: What a comeback from Yamaguchi. She draws level 17-17 in the opening game.
22:56 IST: Excellent rally between the two. Yamaguchi emerges winner at the end. Yamaguchi makes it 16-17.
22:55 IST: Unforced error from Sindhu. Yamaguchi trails 15-17.
22:55 IST: Three back-to-back points for Yamaguchi. The Japanese makes it 14-17 against Sindhu.
22:54 IST: Challenge from Sindhu! But it goes unsuccessful. The point goes in Yamaguchi's favour.
22:45 IST: Sindhu is cruising towards first game win. She leads first game 16-8 against her Japanese opponent.
22:49 IST: Superb start from Sindhu after the mid break. She leads 14-7 in the opening game.
22:47 IST: PV Sindhu leads Akane Yamaguchi 11-5 at mid-break in opening game.
22:45 IST: A superb backhand from the Indian shuttler. Sindhu leads 10-5.
22:44 IST: Three back-to-back points from Yamaguchi. Sindhu still leads 9-5.
22:41 IST: Yamaguchi makes a comeback and makes it 1-6.
22:40 IST: What a start from the Sindhu. She is dominating the first games. Sindhu leads 5-0 against Yamaguchi in the opening game.
22:33 IST: And, PV Singhu makes her entry in style. Crowd welcome the Rio Olympics medallist with a loud cheer.
22:29 IST: Tai Tzu Ying will face either PV Sindhu or Akane Yamaguchi tomorrow.
21-15 20-22 21-13 Tai Tzu Ying beats Chen Yufei to reach the WS final tomorrow #YAE18
— Yonex All England (@YonexAllEngland) March 17, 2018
22:28 IST: In other semi-final, Tai Tzu Ying beats Chen Yufei to enter the women's singles final.
22:00 IST: The Rio Olympics medallist Sindhu defeated Nozomi Okuhara of Japan to enter the semi-finals of the All England Championships.
21:50 IST: Hello and welcome to the Live coverage from the All England Championships semi-final between PV Sindhu and Akane Yamaguchi.
