PV Sindhu beat Soniia Cheah in straight sets. (Source: File Photo)
PV Sindhu cruised into the semi-finals of the Thailand Open after beating Malaysia’s Soniia Cheah 21-17, 21-13 in the quarterfinals on Friday. Sindhu, the number two seed, completed the rout in 26 minutes as Cheah had no answers to her dominant performance. Sindhu will now face Gregorian Mariska of Indonesia tomorrow. While the first game was a close fought contest, in the second Sindhu overpowered her opponent with six straight points to romp to victory.
Earlier, India’s campaign in Bangkok was culled of members with Satwik Rankireddy/Ashwini Ponnappa, HS Prannoy, Parupalli Kashyap, Manu Attri/Sumeeth Reddy all bowing out on Thursday.
PV Sindhu wins the second game 21-13 and with that, she is through to the semi-finals in fine style. Sindhu beats Cheah; 21-17, 21-13. The match lasted just 36 minutes. Sindhu will now face Gregorian Mariska of Indonesia tomorrow.
With six straight points, Sindhu suddenly has an eight-point advantage! It is now 18-10 in favour of Sindhu.
At the break of the second game, it is Sindhu who leads 11-9. A few errors from Sindhu has allowed the Malaysian to make her way back into the match.
Excellent shot-selection from Cheah as he recovers to level the score at 8-8. The game was drifting away from the Malaysian but she has recovered just in time.
PV Sindhu is brimming with confidence and that is reflected on the scoreline as he raced to a lead of 6-2 in the second game. Hits a smash down the middle and Cheah has no answers.
Game Point for Sindhu and she wraps up the first game 21-17. She ends the first game in style by a brilliant forehand smash. Cheah needs to recover from this setback or its all over for the Malaysian.
PV Sindhu has taken the lead. It is now 15-14 in the first game and Sindhu calls for a challenge. The decision is in her favour and she leads 16-14.
Excellent shot-selection from Sindhu. She is slowly clawing her way back. The score is now 12-12. She must continue with this momentum.
At the break of the first game, surprisingly it is Soniia Cheah who leads 11-7. If she can hold on to it then Sindhu will be under real pressure.
After trailing Sindhu 6-4, Soniia Cheah has made amends and now leads 10-7. The Malaysian shuttler is using the court to good effect and picking up effective points.
Sindhu leads 5-3. A couple of fine forehand smashes and she secures the lead early on. However, it will not be an easy ride for Sindhu as Cheah will comeback soon.
And we are underway. Sindhu wins the first point. But Cheah returns to level it at 1-1.
Sindhu vs Cheah will begin shorty. Sindhu is amongst the favorites to win the Thailand Open. So far she has not dropped a game and will look to continue her fine form in the quarterfinal.
Hello and Good Afternoon! Welcome to our live coverage of Thailand Open Badminton where PV Sindhu faces Malaysia's Soniia Cheah in the quarters. Sindhu had beaten Pui Yin Yip in the pre-quarters by a 21-16, 21-14 margin. Cheah, however, had beaten Yiman Zhang 21-17, 21-17