All England: Sindhu Strikes Form
Pusarla V Sindhu turned in perhaps her best performance in months in a scintillating quarterfinal victory over Akane Yamaguchi at the YONEX All England on Friday.
· DEV SUKUMAR
The Indian, who had a disappointing early season at the Asian Leg in Bangkok, appeared to have rediscovered her intensity and aggression. With Yamaguchi also forcing the pace, the match showcased some great badminton between the two attack-minded opponents.
It was touch-and-go in the third as Yamaguchi closed down a mid-game gap to take it to the home stretch, but Pusarla’s attack was on point in the final moments as she took the match 16-21 21-16 21-19. She will next face Pornpawee Chochuwong, while in the lower half of the draw, second seed Nozomi Okuhara takes on fourth seed Ratchanok Intanon.
“I was very focussed,” Pusarla said. “I’m happy about reaching the semifinals but it’s not over yet. I’ll be playing against Pornpawee (Chochuwong), and I don’t want to think about our previous matches. It’s going to be a new match.”