PV Sindhu stuns world champ Marin to enter her maiden Super Series final

Odense, Oct 17: Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu today made it to her maiden Super Series final with a stunning upset victory over reigning world champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the Denmark Open badminton tournament here.

The unseeded Indian beat the world number two and All England champion Marin 21-15 18-21 21-17 in a closely-fought semifinal that lasted one hour and 14 minutes at Odense Sports Park in the USD 650,000 Super Series Premier event here.

This was 20-year-old Hyderabadi's first win against Marin in their last four outings. Sindhu, a twice bronze medallist in World Championships, will now take on former world number one and reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui - ranked fourth in the tournament - of China in the summit clash tomorrow (Sunday, October 18).

Xuerui had beaten Korean seventh seed Sung Ji Hyun 21-8 20-22 21-10 in the other semifinal. Sindhu had never gone past the semifinals in the Super Series or Super Series Premier events.

Both Sindhu and Marin began the match on an equal footing before the Indian grabbed five points on the trot to cruise to a 8-3 lead before Marin closed the gap gradually.

Sindhu, the lone surviving Indian, kept the lead as the two rivals exchanged their services for a while before the Indian took four straight points to reach to game point before pocketing the first set 21-15.

It was Marin who began the second set on a bright note as she took the early lead but the Indian fought back immediately to make it 3-3 and then 5-3 by winning four straight points. But suddenly, Sindhu lost her concentration as world number two Marin made it 6-6 before zooming to 11-6 by taking five points on the trot.

PTI