New Delhi: Thai shuttler Ratchanok Intanon defeated Indian badminton player PV Sindhu 21-15, 9-21, 14-21 during Women’s singles semi-finals of the Indonesia Open 2021 at the Bali International Convention Centre, Bali, on Saturday.
Sindhu had a strong start as she gradually advanced to an 8-3 lead against Ratchanok, who turned the tables and narrowed the points to 9-10 in the opening set. However, Sindhu came back with a breakpoint advantage and slammed Ratchanok with a 21-15 win.
Ratchanok advanced aggressively and led the next set by 11-7. She proceeded to grab 9 out of 10 points as an exasperated Sindhu looked on.
Sindhu’s miscalculations and untimely errors led to Ratchanok scoring another 11 points. Meanwhile, Ratchanok’s forehand smashes, clean serves, and swift movement gave her a 21-9 lead in set 2.
The final set saw a stunning powerplay as both struggled for a seat in the finals. The 3rd seeded Sindhu tried reaching her opponent at 13-16, but her cross-court misjudgment, unforced errors, and net faults gave an edge to World No. 8, who seized the opportunity and won the semi-finals by 21-14.
(Avya Mathur)