PV Sindhu has entered the women’s singles semi-finals of the All England Open Championships after beating Akane Yamaguchi.
Fifth-seeded Sindhu took an hour and 16 minutes to notch up a hard-fought 16-21, 21-16, 21-19 win over the Japanese third seed in the Super 1000 tournament.
Sindhu will now face sixth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand in the last four of the competition.
The Indian had come into the match with a 10-7 head-to-head count against the Japanese even though she had lost the last three meetings. So, it was Sindhu's first win in last four meetings with Yamaguchi.
"I am playing against her after quite a long time, I think 2019. We haven't played at all. I'm sure she would have trained very hard. Today's match was a good, tough long match I would say," Sindhu, currently ranked world number seven, said after the match.
Sindhu then made it 19-18 with a couple of points and then grabbed the match points with Yamaguchi going wide. The Japanese then hit the net as Sindhu let out a cry of celebration.