Game 2
SEALED IT! PV Sindhu has her maiden India Open Super Series title, and that too in some style. She defeats Spain’s Carolina Marin 21-19, 21-16.
Sindhu on match point. 20-16.
Sindhu’s review at 19-13 waisted but she is still leading at 19-14. A matter of two points now.
17-13 to Sindhu. She again has a 5-point advantage. Marin not looking like her usual self.
Marin fighting back. The lead has now been cut short to 2 points. 15-13 it is.
Marin giving points away rather easily. Sindhu now has a 5-point cusion. 14-9 is the score.
Plenty of unforced errors costing Carolina Marin the points. Sindhu now has a 4-point lead at break in second game. 11-7 it is.
Marin warned for taking too much time between points. Sindhu leads 8-7 in Game 2.
The Indian shuttler stealing most of her points by playing around the net as her Spanish counterpart seems to be facing some trouble handling her opponents close-net shots. 7-5 reads the scoreline.
Sindhu has a 2-point cusion for now. The scoreline reads 6-4.
What a rally it was! Marin seals two back-to-back points to put the score 4-2.
Sindhu again has early advantage over Marin. 4-0 reads the scoreline.
Game 1: It is the Indian PV Sindhu who came out as the winner of the first game, winning 21-19.
Sindhu on Game point of first game. 20-19 it is.
Marin moved into lead for the first time but Sindhu forced her out to get the score back level. The Spanish did review the call though! 18-18 it is.
It is closer than expected. Marin with body line smashes to keep the score level. 17-17.
The score is level for the first time in this game. 16-16.
Marin not giving anything away with ease. 16-15 the score stands with Sindhu in lead.
Neck-to-neck it is! Sindhu still carrying advantage though. The score reads 15-13 with the Indian shuttler in lead.
After the break, Sindhu grabs 2 points while Marin gets 1. It’s 13-10 to the Indian.
Sindhu has a 2-point advantage at mid-point of Game 1. She sealed the point with an exquisite smash. 11-9 it is.
Marin, despite her exceptional ability to cover ground made to to hard work by the Indian. 9-7 it is to Sindhu.
Sindhu grabs a point after giving away 3 to Marin. 7-4 it is.
Two consecutive points to the Spanish Marin. Sindhu leads 6-3.
Sindhu with a 5-1 lead at this early stage of the Game 1. Marin cannot be discounted though.
Marin has the first point and Sindhu forced her wide to grab the second one. It is 1-1.
18:40 IST: Here’s the most awaited match for the day – Women’s Singles Final between Carolina Marin and PV Sindhu
18:30 IST: Fernaldi G. M./Sukamuljo S lift Men’s Doubles title, defeating Fernaldi G M/Sukamuljo S 21-11, 21-15. Up next is PV Sindhu vs Carolina Marin.
17:40 IST: Danish Shuttler Viktor Axelsen emerges victorious defeats Chou Tien Chen to lift Men’s Singles title.
17:10 IST: Two more matches to go before the big one begns. First up is the Men’s Singles final.
16:50 IST: Lu Kai-Yaqiong beat Siwai-Qingchen 22-24, 21-14,21-17 to clinch India Open Mixed doubles title.
16:42 IST: Third set currently underway between Zheng/Chen and Lu/Huang and PV Sindhu was spotted making her way on the court, much to the delight of home fans.
15:30 IST: After the prize distribution ceremony of the Women’s Doubles event, Mixed Doubled final will be played between all-Chinese pairs of Zheng Siwei-Chen Qingchen and Lu Kai-Huang Yaqiong.
15:25 IST: We have got day’s first result. In the all-Japanese Women’s Doubles final, Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto defeated compatriots Naoko Fukuman and Kurumi Yonao in three grueling games 16-21 21-19 21-10. The match lasted one hour and 12 minutes.
New Delhi: Badminton fans, get yourself ready for yet another PV Sindhu-Carolina Marin slugfest.
The women’s singles final in the 2017 India Open Super Series will witness two of the grittiest players on the BWF tour, and today’s match-up only re-enforces the fact that the world needs not be worried when there are no Chinese finalists in a big tournament.
Yesterday, Olympic champion Spaniard Marin made short work of world number two Akane Yamaguchi in the first semi-final, winning the match in straight games 21-16, 21-14 in 40 minutes. But the Indian ace survived a grueling three-game match to defeat world number four Sung Ji-hyun of South Korea. The match lasted one hour 12 minutes, with the Rio Olympics silver medallist winning 21-18, 14-21, 21-14.
Here’s everything you need to know about the title clash:
Head to head: Marin leads Sindhu in head to head, with the Spaniard winning five of the eight matches. Sindhu won the first meeting in 2011, then Marin won the next three meetings.
In 2015, Sindhu beat Marin at Denmark Open in three games. It was followed by Marin victories in Hong Kong Open and that heart-breaking Rio Olympics final.
But Sidhu beat Marin in their last meeting in straight games last December at Dubai World Superseries Finals.
Who is Carolina Marin, by the way?
She is Rafael Nadal of women’s badminton. No exaggeration here. Like her more famous compatriot, Marin never gives up. That one simple aspect of her game makes up majority of her technical deficiencies, and there too, she hardly gets a flaw. Meaning, she is just about unbeatable. Kind of ‘Girl Nadal’, a epithet she loves to the core.
Besides, she screams. According to her, that makes her a nagging opponent for everyone.
She is only 23, and already achieved everything a badminton can hope for. In fact, she is a trend-setter in the non-Chinese market, with many a first on her name.
According to BWF, she has played 347 matches, winning 264 to have a ‘balance’ of +181, as against Sindhu’s +116. The 21-year-old Indian has played 302 matches, winning 209.
Date: April 2 (Sunday)
Time: Coverage starts at 14:00 IST. Sindhu-Marin match expected at around 17.30 PM IST
Place: Siri Fort Sports Complex, New Delhi
TV Listing: Star Sports Network
Online Listing: Hotstar
Source: Zee News