PV Sindhu enters Rio 2016 semis, defeats World No. 2 Wang Yihan

by Liveday Tamilnadu LIVEDAY

Indian shuttler P.V. Sindhu caused a huge upset, stunning World No.2 Wang Yihan of China in straight games to enter the semi-finals of the women's singles category at the ongoing Rio Olympics.

Faced with a much higher rated opponent, the 21-year-old from Hyderabad scripted a 22-20, 21-19 victory in 54 minutes over the former World No.1 at the Rio centro Pavilion 4 on Tuesday.

Wang, who had taken silver at the 2012 London Olympics, was expected to be the stronger of the two, but it was Sindhu who dominated most of the exchanges.

The Indian won the majority of the long rallies and used her power-packed smashes and cross-court shots to good effect.

Sindhu is now a win away from assuring India a medal in the women’s singles category. If she wins her semi-final, she plays the gold medal match, which assures at least a silver for India. If she loses, she would have to play a bronze medal play-off with the loser of other semi-final. She plays her semi-final against Nozomi Okuhara of Japan on Thursday.