Sindhu prevails over Bingjiao

Sindhu was in total control in the first game after conceding an early 0-2 lead. She took the next three points and smashed her way to 13-7 and outplayed her opponent in 14 minutes.

But the left-handed Bingjiao came back strongly and took an early lead in the second game and led 5-2. Bingjiao’s attempt to play Sindhu across the court turned sour as she lost a point. The Indian closed the gap to 7-7 and seemed a little tired with all the cross-court duels as the World No.9 reclaimed the lead 10-7.Bingjiao maintained the lead by 11-9. After some aggressive set of returns from either side, Bingjiao smacked the final return down the line to lose a point. From 12-12, a clinical smash down the court gave the Chinese a 17-14 lead to win the game in 21 minutes. 

Unlike in the first two games, Sindhu took the first point in the decider but she could not keep the lead as Bingjiao went 3-1 ahead. Sindhu fought back and led 5-3. Bingjiao pulled level at seven-all. However, the Indian tightened her game and led 9-6. As Bingjiao hit a smash out, Sindhu changed the court at half-way with a 11-7 advantage. The Indian came up with a delicate drop down the line to go ahead 13-8. The Chinese narrowed the gap to 12-14 with a couple of good shots and a few errors from Sindhu. The Chinese came closer to 16-17 but she conceded two points through unforced errors. Later in the day, Kidambi Srikanth fell to World No 1 Viktor Axelsen 13-21, 17-21.