Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu remain the top two Indian women badminton players at the moment and therefore, plenty was expected of the duo at the Rio 2016 Olympics. While Saina unfortunately made the exit from the mega sporting event earlier, all hopes rest on Sindhu to at least try and bring home a medal.
The 21-year-long lanky Hyderabadi sportswoman is doing just that as she has now reached the last four of the women's badminton tournament in Olympics 2016.
Where to watch PV Sindhu vs Nozomi Okuhara live
Sindhu, making her maiden Olympics appearance, will be keen on emulating what her compatriot Saina achieved four years back -- a bronze medal in badminton in 2012 London Olympics. Maybe even, try to better the feat.
Sindhu won a silver medal in the individual event of the South Asian Games 2016 and her knack of giving some great display in major events seem to continue. She shocked World No 2 in women's badminton, Wang Yihan in straight sets 22-20 21-19 to enter the semifinals of the women's badminton event in the Rio games.
However, nothing has been achieved until the target of a medal is fulfilled and both Sindhu and her coach Pullela Gopichand know that, more than anyone else.
"It was good (the win against Wang Yihan) but in my book she can do a notch higher. There's of course some chances of improvement in a couple of areas," Gopichand told the Press Trust of India after Sindhu's match. "She's been inconsistent a few times and squandered leads but I think it's all part of her learning experience. She's still young and has age on her side. I think she's a great fighter with great work ethic," he added.
Sindhu's opponent in the semifinals -- World No 3 Nozomi Okuhara -- is a tough nut to crack. The Indian has faced the Japanese shuttler in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and has never been able to get past the All England Open 2016 winner.
Catch PV Sindhu in the Rio 2016 women's badminton semifinals:
Fixture - Nozomi Okuhara (JAP) vs PV Sindhu (IND)
Date - Aug. 18, 2016.
Time - 5:50 p.m. IST.
Venue - RioCentro Pavilion 4.
TV listings - Star Sports Network (India), BBC (UK), NBC Sports (USA).
