PV Sindhu takes on He Bingjiao in the Women's singles semi-final of the ongoing Korea Superseries at the SK Handball Stadium in Seoul on Saturday, September 16.
The Indian shuttler displayed nerves of steel and grit in her quarter-final outing against lower-ranked Japanese shuttler, Minatsu Mitani. While Sindhu, the fifth seed, took the first game 21-19, she was affected by fatigue in the second, thereby conceding it 21-16.
Sindhu then made a stunning comeback and decimated her Japanese opponent in the decider to take the match 21-19, 16-21, 21-10 in an hour and three minutes. Notably, Mitani had headed into the last-eight match in fine form after beating world number one Tai Tzu Ying, but Sindhu proved too good for her on Friday.
Bingjiao stunned Sung Ji Hyun
On the other hand, Bingjiao world number seven and sixth seed Bingjiao also played a marathon quarter-final against Korean superstar Sung Ji Hyun that extended to an hour and 17 minutes.
The 20-year-old, who clinched milestone victories at France and Japan at this stage of the season last year, stunned the third seed 21-19, 16-21, 21-19 on Friday.
Sindhu's biggest hurdle
Notably, Bingjiao is one of the few top shuttlers who enjoys a good head-to-head record against the reigning world and Olympic silver medallist Sindhu. Notably, the Chinese shuttler has defeated her higher-ranked opponent five times in their last eight meetings, with her last win coming at the Badminton Asia Championships earlier this year.
Sindhu will be tested, but the Indian shuttler seems to be determined to finish on the podium in Seoul. It will be interesting to see if Sindhu can beat fatigue as Bingjiao will be looking to tire out her opponent.
The winner of the match will take on the winner of the other semi-final -- all Japan -- between world champion Nozomi Okuhara and Akane Yamaguchi.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
Sindhu vs Bingjiao is the fourth match at Main Location 1. It is not expected to start before 2pm local time, 10:30am IST.
India: TV: Star Sports 2. Live streaming: Hotstar
Malaysia: TV: Astro Supersport. Live streaming: Astro Go
Singapore: TV: Star Hub. Live streaming: Starhub Go
China: TV: CCTV 5+
Worldwide live streaming: BWF YouTube channel [Not available in India]
Live scores for all matches can be followed on BWF's official website.
