After a sensational semis victory, Sindhu a win away from second year-ender title

Matches between PV Sindhu and Akane Yamaguchi are standalone sensations – Saturday’s 21-15, 15-21, 21-19 win for the Indian was a rollicking roller-coaster.

They’ve faced off 21 times starting from juniors through to Olympics, and the ability to throw up a classic, even while all eyes are on the Worlds in Spain in 10 days, makes the duo engaging entertainers.

Saturday happened to be the semifinals of the year-ending World Tour Finals. And such is the opulence in depth in women’s singles that even without half the top players turning up in Bali, there were still four semifinalists who managed to put on a captivating spectacle.

Sindhu has made three World Tour Finals Sunday summits. She won in 2018. And though she’s not won a title in Indonesia (made finals right before the Rio Olympics), not picked a title in 2021 (made finals at Swiss Open) and never beaten An Seyoung (played her twice at Denmark), it is the 70-minute pulse-pounder against Yamaguchi that brought listless contests in Bali to life.