FINAL SCORE: PV Sindhu defeats Saina Nehwal 21-16 22-20
EXCEPTIONAL! PV SINDHU DOES IT AGAIN. Full brownie points to Sindhu for making an impressive comeback from 16-19 down to clinch the second game 22-20 in 28 minutes.
6:56 pm IST: Okay, this is way too close now.
Saina 19-18 Sindhu
6:53 pm IST: Absolute brilliance from Saina. You need to watch this to feel it. Saina using her agility absolutely perfectly. Sindhu under full pressure now...but it seems she can indeed make the comeback. Never count the Olympic queen out.
Saina 16-15 Sindhu
6:50 pm IST: Sindhu showing signs of a comeback while the Saina juggernaut continues in the form of powerful smashes and body shots.
Saina 14-10 Sindhu
6:46 pm IST: To be honest, Saina Nehwal is turning back the clock with her agility and determination to win.
Saina 11-7 Sindhu
6:43 pm IST: The crowd are absolutely at the top of their voice and Saina, incredibly, is winning all the big rallies. The body shots seems to have become her weapon now. Her smashes have meanwhile, also continued.
Sindhu makes the first challenge of the match...and it goes Saina's way!
Saina 9-6 Sindhu
6:40 pm IST: Okay so, Saina is fighting for every point in this set. Her grit is showing, he movement is better and she is trying not to make the unforced errors.
Saina 6-4 Sindhu
6:35 pm IST: On for the second game of the match. Can Sindhu clinch the match in straight sets?
Absolute brilliance from Saina to win a point following another big rally of 28 shots.
Saina 2-1 Sindhu
That's it! Sindhu wins the first game 21-16 in 19 minutes.
Saina Nehwal did try to make a great comeback but the difference in points between them was a bit too much.
6:30 pm IST: So, we see the first big rally of the match consisting of 30 shots and Saina gets it in the end. The comeback path is not over for Saina, but Sindhu looks to have edged this game. Big lead for now.
Sindhu 18-13 Saina
6:27 pm IST: Meanwhile, Spain's Carolina Marin is playing her singles match in the other court of the stadium. She battles Japan's Mitani.
As we speak, Sindhu is steadily picking up points. Impressive show from the Olympics 2016 silver medallist. Saina looks to make a comeback now, but will she succeed?
Sindhu 16-10 Saina
6:24 pm IST: Two quick points for Pusarla. Starting to find her feet already?
Sindhu 11-9 Saina
6:21 pm IST: Very even match up so far. Both players are giving their all, but it remains to be seen who wins the battle of stamina in the next few minutes.
Smashes after smashes. What you can, I can do better!
9-9
6:18 pm IST: The crowd cheering every single point won. This is incredible. They definitely wanna witness a great game of badminton, no doubt.
Sindhu hitting the net quite a couple of times now. Initial stumble?
5-5
6:15 pm IST: Coach Gopichand watches from the stand. What is going on his mind? Former protegee against current protegee.
Back-to-back action so far.
3-3
6:12 PM IST: Saina Nehwal with the first serve of the match and Sindhu with the first point via her trademark smash.
Saina makes a smash to win a point on the receiving serve.
1-1
6:08 pm IST: The power ladies from India are out at the Siri Fort right now. Sindhu in yellow, Saina in blue! The winner faces Sung Ji Hyun in the semifinals tomorrow.
6 pm IST: Alright, so the time has finally arrived. The Adock pair from England has bossed their mixed doubles match after a gruelling encounter. Now, wait for the next update....
5:45 pm IST: Okay so, we have to wait for some more time for the mother of all battles between the Indians, as a mixed doubles match has gone the distance, i.e, 3 sets, following some dramatic badminton at the moment.
Saina and Sindhu's match kicks off at the end of this match.
5:35 pm IST: Before we start off with the proceedings, let us look into this detailed story done by my colleague Ashim on who we can actually call the best -- Saina or Sindhu.
In an official match, Saina has a 1-0 record so far over Sindhu after the former's win at the India Grand Prix Gold badminton super series in 2014. Saina also beat Sindhu at the Premier Badminton League in 2013.
However, we witnessed Sindhu beating Saina earlier this year at the PBL 2017. So, basically, the head to head record now stands in a 2-1 in favour of Saina Nehwal.
5:30 pm IST: Hello and welcome to the live coverage of a mouthwatering badminton clash between PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal from the India Open super series 2017 on Friday. The action is coming across your way live from the Siri Fort Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
This is me, Sayantan, bringing you all the live action from the match that the entire nation are glued on. If everything goes right, the action starts off in just 15 minutes' time.
