Her exploits against Chinese shuttlers have earned Saina Nehwal the nickname of 'Dragon Slayer'. On Friday, another shuttler from Saina's own city joined in the act.
For some time now, Pusarla Venkata Sindhu has been talked about as Saina's successor. On Friday, as thousands of Chinese fans watched in stunned silence, the 17-year-old took a giant leap towards confirming that status with an incredible victory over newly-crowned Olympic champion Li Xuerui, 21-19, 9-21, 21-16, in the quarterfinals of the China Masters Super Series in Changzhou on Friday.
With the three-game triumph against China's most consistent player of the year, Sindhu proved she is the next best thing for Indian badminton. "I am extremely delighted. Though I wanted to beat her I never thought I could do it. She is in great form this year and beating her is just amazing. I began well in the third game and succeeded in maintaining that momentum," Sindhu said.
However, Notwithstanding the biggest win of her career, Sindhu has no plans to celebrate. "I have a match on Saturday. I know the occasion demands celebration but my concentration is only on my next match," said Sindhu, who reached her first Super Series semifinal.
Sindhu will now meet fourth seed Jiang Yanjiao of China in the semifinal while world No. 1 Wang Yihan (China) will take on Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand in the other semifinal.
There was more cheer for India when Ajay Jayaram also made it to the semifinals in the men's section after defeating compatriot and national champion Sourabh Varma 12-21, 21-14, 21-16 in the quarters. However, R M V Gurusaidutt lost to Chen Long of China 8-21, 12-21. Jayaram faces Yun Hu of Hong Kong in the semifinals.
Xuerui, who has won five titles this year including the Olympics and the prestigious All England Championship, had lost only once before this year this year. Incidentally, the other defeat was at the hands of Saina, in the final of the Indonesia Open on June 17.
Though Sindu is ranked No. 24 in the world, the Chinese did not take her lightly. The fact that their chief national coach, Li Yongbo accompanied Xuerui to the court explained how serious the Chinese were about this match. Yongbo hardly takes the courtside seat unless the opponent is of the calibre of men's world No. 2 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia or Saina.
But despite the support of the most famous coach of the world, Xuerui could not get past the Indian youngster. The 45-minute enthralling battle witnessed fortunes swing either way before lady luck smiled on the lanky lass from Hyderabad.
The daughter of former captain of Indian volleyball team, P V Ramana, Sindhu has been showing great promise for the last few years. She won the senior national title and a few minor events at the international level. But on Friday, she reached a different level. Beating a top Chinese player and that too in China is considered next to impossible in the world of badminton. But Sindhu did that with aplomb.
Pouncing on the net to kill the high serve, employing the deceptive but powerful smash on the rival's backhand side and displaying immaculate ability to reach anywhere and retrieve everything, Sindhu was a treat to watch.
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