The unfortunate exit of India's Saina Nehwal in the first round of the China Open had put immense pressure on PV Sindhu, and the Rio Olympic silver medallist showed her class, reaching the finals of the competition. She is just one step away from the China Open crown, as she faces Sun Yu in the final on Sunday.
After some poor results in the French Open and Denmark Open, Sindhu was desperate to perform in the China Open. With the number of top stars in the competition, it was never going to be easy as she witnessed en route to the finals.
Click here for PV Sindhu vs Sun Yu final live score and updates
There is no doubt that the Indian shuttler, who has looked in good touch and come up with some amazing badminton so far, has been tested to the limit in some of the matches. After defeating Chia Lee in the first round, she was stretched to three games by Beiwen Zhang in the next match.
Her last two matches have not been easy, and even more so, Sindhu's semifinal clash with South Korean Sung Ji Hyun, who had clinched the first game. But then, as we have seen in the recent past, she has a strong character, and comes from behind to clinch the match, which is exactly what happened in the encounter against Sung Ji. Sindhu won the last two games to reach the final.
If her clash against the South Korean was tough, Sindhu's opponent in the final Sun Yu will pose huge challenge to the seventh seed. Sun Yu has been in impeccable form in the China Open so far. The Chinese has not lost a single game in the competition. If Sindhu has to clinch the title on Sunday, she has to win two games, which is not going to be easy with Sun Yu in such form. Besides her current form, the home fans are going to support Sun Yu to the hilt, and make life difficult for Sindhu.
The match has all the ingredients of a classic encounter. Both the players love to play an attacking game, and if they get their A game going, the final can be epic as they love those powerful shots from the baseline, which is always a treat for badminton fans. However, it is also their game at the net, which needs to be strong for them to outdo one another in the final.
Though their performance on the court is what matters the most, they will have to be strong mentally as well to win China Open 2016.
Where to watch live
PV Sindhu vs Sun Yu China Open 2016 final is scheduled to start at 2 pm local time (11:30 am IST). Here are the Tv and live streaming options.
India: TV: Star Sports4/HD. Live streaming: Hotstar
International viewers can also click here for live streaming
