PV Sindhu completed a hat-trick of medals at the World Badminton Championship as she stormed into the semi-finals, lifting India's spirit after Kidambi Srikanth's quarter-final exit in Glasgow on Friday.
Sindhu, a silver medallist at the Rio Olympics, assured herself of at least a bronze with a clinical display against world number six Chinese Sun Yu.
The 22-year-old, who has won a bronze at the 2013 and 2014 editions, disposed off Sun Yu 21-14, 21-9 in 39 minutes at the Emirates Arena.
I am very happy with the performance. She is not an easy player. I just went into the court and gave my best and it went on well. Last time I lost to her in Dubai. It was not easy even though I was leading, each point was important. I was never over confident that I will finish it off, I just tried to maintain the lead.PV Sindhu
The world Number 4 Indian will next take on another Chinese – World Number 10 Chen Yufei, who saw off former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.
Sindhu dished out an aggressive game and never looked in doubt as she led from start to finish during the 39-minute lop-sided match. Sun, on the other hand, looked out of sorts and nervous.
In the first game, Sindhu led 5-4, which she extended to 8-4. The duo then engaged in one of the longest rallies that had 39 shots. Sindhu eventually sealed it with a half cross court smash and quickly grabbed a 11-4 lead at the break when Sun made a wrong judgement at the baseline.
Playing at the faster side of the court, Sindhu tried to make her opponent bend and move across the court with her acute-angled strokes. She sometimes used her deception and changed her pace to outwit the Chinese.
The result was Sindhu quickly moved to 15-5 lead. Sun reduced the margin to 10-16 but Sindhu eventually earned seven game points with a smart return at the forecourt that left her opponent stranded.
Sindhu faltered with a return before sealing the first game with a lovely drop shot.
The second game started with another long rally which Sindhu won with an onrushing body smash. The Indian continued to pile on the pressure to lead 11-4 at the interval.
The breather didn't bring any respite for Sun as Sindhu moved to 18-8. Frustration was clear on the face of Sun, who tried her bit to upstage the Indian but Sindhu seemed to have all the answers as she reached 11 match points with a low cross court flick. She sealed the contest when Sun went long once again.
Saina Nehwal will be taking on Kirsty Gilmour in a quarter-final match, later in the day.
(With inputs from PTI)
(#TalkingStalking: Have you ever been stalked? Share your experience with The Quint and inspire others to shatter the silence surrounding stalking. Send your stories to editor@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)