India's star shuttler PV Sindhu lost to Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-19, 19-21, 18-21 to crash out of the USD 1000,000 All England Championship on Saturday. In the final, the 20-year-old Japanese shuttler will take on World No 1 Tai Tzu-ying, who ousted Saina Nehwal in the opening round.
Sindhu displayed tremendous grit to seal the first game, though it remained a neck-to-neck affair throughout the session. Yamaguchi made a comeback in the second game and clinched it 21-19 to keep the Birmingham spectators at the edge of their seats.
The third game saw a rejuvenated Indian shuttler who dominated the most of the session before Yamaguchi made a thumping return to seal it 21-18.
Earlier, Sindhu produced a top-notched performance to eke out a thrilling three-game victory over 2016 champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan to progress to her maiden semifinal on Friday. 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.
Earlier in the day, Tai Tzu-ying outclassed Chinese shuttler Chen Yufei 21-15, 20-22, 21-13 to reach the final.
Tzu-ying's campaign in the USD 1,000,000 world Super 1000 tournament started at the expense of Saina, who couldn't match up to the precision and athleticism the Taiwanese, going down 14-21 18-21.
It was Saina's eighth successive loss to Tzu-ying in five years.
After failing to keep pace with Tai Tzu in the opening game, the 27-year-old Indian blew a 16-11 advantage in the second game to bow out of the USD 1,000,000 world Super 1000 tournament.
