Second seed PV Sindhu takes on sixth seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the women's singles semi-final of Hong Kong Superseires 2017 on Saturday, November 25.
Sindhu, last year's runner-up at Hong Kong, is heading into the match on the back of a 21-12, 21-19 win over in-form Akane Yamaguchi in just 36 minutes on Friday. The world number three started strong against the Japanese shuttler, who came into the tournament with after having made three Superseires finals on the trot.
Sindhu wrapped up the first game with ease, before holding her nerves to stage a comeback after being down 13-8 in the second game. The Indian shuttler thereby avenged her French Open semi-final defeat against Yamaguchi, who went on to finish on the top step of the podium in Paris.
On the other hand, Intanon eased past unseeded Michelle Li of Canada 21-14, 21-16 in a 38-minute quarter-final on Friday. The 22-year-old, who won the Denmark Open last month, will face her first big test of the tournament against Sindhu in the much-anticipated last-four match.
Notably, Intanon, with her deception and control at the nets, has had the upper-hand over Sindhu in the past, winning four of their five meetings so far.
However, the two shuttlers have not met since April 2016 and Sindhu's confidence of winning big matches over the last 18 months should help her face Intanon with a lot of confidence.
"It will not be easy against Ratchanok. At this stage, all matches are tough. If I can get to the finals – or even win – that would be good momentum going into the Dubai Finals," Sindhu said, as quoted by BWF's official website.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
The women's singles semi-final between Sindhu and Intanon will not start before 7:30pm local time, 5:30pm IST.
Live streaming and TV coverage
Global live streaming: BWF YouTube channel
India: TV: Star Sports. Live streaming: Hotstar
Malaysia: TV: Astro Supersport. Live streaming: Astro Go
Singapore: TV: Star Hub. Live streaming: Starhub Go
Live scores can be followed on BWF's official website.
