PV Sindhu, the latest badminton sensation from India, has been doing exceptionally well in the badminton circuit. As a result, she is one of the eight women's singles players participating in the BWF World Super Series Final in Dubai. Sindhu takes on Akane Yamaguchi in her opening match on Wednesday.
With this competition played in a league stage format, the first match of the Super Series Final becomes utmost important. Sindhu will hope to start on the frontfoot with a win against her Japanese opponent and increase her chance of featuring in the semifinals of the Super Series Final.
Sindhu comes into this competition with some impressive performance in the year, including a silver medal win in Rio Olympics. She has carried that form forward, winning the China Open and finishing runners-up in the Hong Kong Open.
Her opponent, Yamaguchi has also delivered the goods against some top shuttlers this year, winning the Denmark and Korea Open. Such titles will give her immense confidence in this mega clash that should be a humdinger of a contest.
The two shullters have met thrice so far, and Sindhu enjoys a 2-1 head-to-head lead. Yamaguchi defeated Sindhu in 2013 while the Indian shuttler beat the Japanese in the last two encounters in 2015 (Macau Open) and Uber Cup (2016).
Sindhu will be aware that her opponent has been playing some wonderful badminton of late, and such past records may count to nothing on Wednesday as Yamaguchi is a much improved player now.
Sindhu has all the ammunitions in the bag to defeat Yamaguchi once again, but then she has to be consistent. Sindhu has always been an aggressive player, playing her powerful smashes, which is her major forte. Sindhu has also improved her game at the net, which has helped her become even stronger.
If Sindhu gets her A game going, the Indian should be able to emerge victorious.
Where to watch live
PV Sindhu vs Akane Yamaguchi BWF Super Series Finals 2016 is scheduled to start at 5:30 pm local time (7 pm IST) approximately. Here are the Tv and live streaming options.
India: TV: Star Sports 4/HD. Live streaming: Hotstar
International viewers can also click here for live streaming
