In an epic battle at the 2015 Denmark Open Super Series on Saturday, Indian shuttler PV Sindhu beat the current World and All England Champion Carolina Marin 21-15, 18-21, 21-17 to enter her first ever Super Series final.



The young Indian’s amazing and improbable run in Odense, which has now accounted for the exits of three top ten ranked opponents, culminates in the final against world number six and Olympic Champion Li Xuerui of China on Sunday.



At the age of 20, Sindhu now has the chance to follow in the footsteps of Indian badminton greats Prakash Padukone and Saina Nehwal, who won this prestigious tournament in 1980 and 2012 respectively.



Let’s put this semi-final victory into perspective. Marin, ranked number two in the world, usually operates at a level higher than other players on the circuit. Already this year, she has twice got the better of Nehwal – who is India’s best shuttler and the current world number one – with relative ease.



A difficult opponent



Whenever India tuned to support Nehwal in a major final this year, Marin has stood in the way. And she seemed quicker, sharper, hungrier – and near invincible. The Spaniard twice ended Nehwal’s hopes of a major title win at the final hurdle, once at the All England Open Championships in March and again at the World Championship in August.



In fact, long before Marin weaved her spell on Nehwal, she had also beaten Sindhu in the semi-finals of the 2014 World Championship – forcing her opponent to settle for a bronze medal. Simply put: the left-handed Marin may currently be ranked number two, one behind Nehwal, but she is the toughest opponent on the circuit.



Sindhu though, being five inches taller, is a different proposition to Nehwal. Her reach is far greater and her smashes are much steeper. Once she hits her rhythm, like she has done all-week-long in Odense, there is no stopping her – something Marin found out in a 74-minute thriller.



Early lead



The Indian raced into an 11-6 lead in the first game, surprising Marin with the force of her shots and the placement of her smashes. At times she left the reigning world champion, who is known for her fast movement around the court, flat on the floor in trying to retrieve smashes.



It left Marin visibly rattled. The Spaniard’s judgment went haywire – she began to leave shuttles landing clearly inside the baseline – while her characteristic screaming too was more borne out of frustration than an act of geeing herself up. The Indian closed out the game comfortably at 21-15.



Marin fights back



But Marin is the world champion for a reason, and she came storming back into the contest. At 5-6 down in the second game, the Spaniard upped her intensity, controlled rallies better and sped away on the scoreboard. Although Sindhu did well to stay in touch, the second game went to her opponent 21-18.



With momentum behind her Marin is a super-intimidating prospect, not least because of the regularity with which she screams at every point earned. She verbally stamps her authority on opponents and lays down the challenge after each point. Against Nehwal in the final of the World Championship in August, she put together a string of six and seven consecutive points in both games to wrap up a comfortable win.



Heading into the third set, not many would have backed a Sindhu win. In a battle of nerves Marin, with her experience in coming out on top in high-stakes affairs all year long, was the clear favourite.



At the change of ends, she was up by 11 points to Sindhu’s nine. The longer the rallies, the more likely Marin would end up winning them – her defensive game now running at full tilt. The next ten points were evenly split. The match was poised at 14-16 in favour of Marin in the third.



Sindhu does the unthinkable



And this is when Sindhu achieved the most incredible feat: she not only held her nerve but steamrolled her opponent. In the blink of an eye, the Indian won seven of the next eight points to reach the final. By the end, Marin had been bullied into resignation.



Against former world number one Yihan Wang in the quarter-finals, Sindhu had let her opponent cut into huge leads. Against Tai Tzu Ying in the pre-quarters, she had been a dominant force without any hiccups. The semi-final win was different. It tested her to the limit. She outplayed, then outfought and eventually, in keeping rallies shorter, also outwitted Marin.



On Sunday, she vies for the title leaving behind a trail of higher-ranked victims. At the end of the day, Marin too had learned something valuable about her Indian opponents: If Nehwal doesn’t get you, Sindhu will.



