Indian shuttler PV Sindhu continued her excellent form to stun world No. 2 Carolina Marin 21-15, 18-21, 21-17 ... Read More

HYDERABAD: A rampaging PV Sindhu outclassed back-to-back world champion Carolina Marin 21-15, 18-21, 21-17 to waltz into the final of the Denmark Open Superseries Premier in Odense on Saturday.

The resurgent two-time bronze medallist at the Worlds continued her sensational form as she reached her maiden Premier final with three stunning victories. After shocking world No.4 Tai Tzu Ying on Thursday, Sindhu walloped the dangerous Wang Yihan of China early on Saturday. Eighteen hours later she humbled the Spanish world champion in a hard fought 1 hour 14 minute battle.

Marin, the first world champion from Europe, is one of the few players to defend the world crown successfully. However, the reigning all-England champion failed to survive the barrage of smashes and power-packed bodyline drives from the lanky Indian.

After losing the first game, Marin, who is known for wearing out the opponent, seized control in the second game. From 5-6, Marin moved well clear of Sindhu with a six consecutive points. Though Sindhu kept trying Marin is too experienced a player to throw away such a big lead.

In the decider too, Marin gained control as Sindhu made a couple of errors near the net at 9-9. From 11-9, Marin quickly moved to 15-11 in no time. It looked as if the Indian had no way to comeback. And when the all round play was not giving any results, Sindhu changed the strategy.

Till then Sindhu played a composed game pushing her rival to the back, giving more air to the bird and waiting for a clear chance to go for the kill, either near the net or from the back of court.

But Marin is adept at these tactics as she too plays a similar game. Pushed to a corner and trailing by four points, Sindhu shifted gears and launched an all out attack on her experienced rival. In no time she wiped off the margin with two cross court smashes and a deceptive drop. From 14-16, Sindhu moved to 20-16 with a six-point burst.

That brief spell of dominance startled Marin, who for a while looked clueless and lost her composure as she failed to even return an easy drive aimed at her. At 20-17, Sindhu finished off in style with a powerful overhead smash.

The Hyderabadi girl, who is rightly criticised for not justifying her talent, will now face Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China in the final on Sunday. Sindhu downed Li Xuerui in the pre-quarterfinals of the World Championships this August. She has a healthy 2-2 record against the Chinese superstar.

Delighted with the sensational performance of his ward, coach Pullela Gopichand said that Sindhu should take off from here. "It is very good win for Sindhu. I hope she will build upon these results. She is a very talented player and today both (Marin and Sindhu) played extremely well. But what worked for Sindhu was her attack. She was very aggressive and that helped her," Gopichand said.

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