Former world champion PV Sindhu stormed into the women’s singles semi-finals at the Commonwealth Games 2022 while Aakarshi Kashyap’s CWG debut ended with a 10-21, 7-21 defeat to Scotland’s Kristy Gilmour.

Commonwealth Games: PV Sindhu beats Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei in quarter-finals (AP Photo)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Aakarshi Kashyap’s CWG debut ended with a 10-21, 7-21 defeat
  • Sindhu registered a come-from-behind 19-21, 21-14, 21-18 win over Goh
  • Sindhu enter her third successive semifinals at Commonwealth Games

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu struggled past Malaysia’s Goh Wei Jin in the women’s singles quarterfinals while young Aakarshi Kashyap’s CWG debut ended with a 10-21, 7-21 defeat to Scotland’s Kristy Gilmour.

A former world champion, Sindhu registered a come-from-behind 19-21, 21-14, 21-18 win over Goh, ranked 60th, to enter her third successive semifinals at the Commonwealth Games.

PV Sindhu tried to mount a comeback using her height to create angles but Goh Jin Wei unleashed a flurry of smashes to take the opening game.

PV Sindhu, known for her endurance, amped up her game to tire out Goh Jin Wei with longer rallies and lead 11-8 at the second break. Goh Jin Wei, who is on a comeback trail after retiring due to health reasons last year, struggled physically and could not close the gap as the match stretched into the decider.

With tactics paying off, PV Sindhu continued to test Goh Jin Wei physically with an average of nine shots per rally. Despite trailing at one stage, PV Sindhu persisted to beat Goh Jin Wei in one hour and 17 minutes.

While Goh played some exceptional shots, including a body smash, Sindhu focussed on making her opponent move across the court and used her repertoire of strokes to achieve that.

Sindhu tried to get into good positions to open up multiple options for her strokeplay. Soon she was leading 15-11 with Goh looking frustrated, flat on the floor.

The Indian kept a firm grip on the rallies as Goh looked tired with her returns and seemed to have lost the sting. In the end, Sindhu grabbed three match points and converted on her second attempt, much to the joy of the Indian fans at the NEC Hall.

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