Internet Desk: In a nail biting clash between two of India’s best women Tennis shuttlers, Rio Olympics silver medalist P V Sindhu beat her compatriot Saina Nehwal to enter the semifinals of the India Open Super Series in New Delhi on Thursday.
Sindhu won a hard-fought match over her senior pro Saina by 21-16, 22-20 and now she will face the second seeded Korean Sung Ji Hyun of South Korea in the semifinals tomorrow.
Saina, a London Olympics bronze medallist, and Sindhu had previously met each other just once in an international competition — at the 2014 Syed Modi International — where Saina had won in straight games.
They had played against each other in PBL early this year with Sindhu having got an upper hand. They had also faced each other in the Indian Badminton League in 2013 when Saina beat her fellow country women.
Earlier in the day, second seeded Korean Sung Ji Hyun edged out defending champion Ratchanok Intanon, seeded fifth, 21-16 22-20, while fourth seeded Akane Yamaguchi staved off a challenge from former All England champion Nozomi Okuhara, seeded seventh, 21-13 11-21 21-18 in an all-Japanese contest.
In men’s singles, two-time runners-up Viktor Axelsen of Denmark eked out a hard-fought 19-21 21-14 21-16 win over Chinese Taipei’s Tzu Wei Wang to reach the semifinals.
With inputs from PTI.