PV Sindhu is one win away from winning the Malaysia Masters
Double Olympic medalist P. V. Sindhu advanced to the women’s singles finals here on Saturday, when she defeated Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan in a thrilling match to earn a chance at the Malaysia Masters title.
In a marathon semifinal that lasted 88 minutes, fifth seed Sindhu—who hasn’t won a championship in the previous two years—came back to defeat world number 20 Busanan 13-21 21-16 21-12 in order to go closer to the BWF World Tour Super 500 title at the Axiata Arena.
Sindhu placed second in the Madrid Spain Masters and won the 2022 Singapore Open the previous year.
She had defeated the Indian only once in her career—during the 2019 Hong Kong Open—and this was her eighteenth victory against Busanan.
In the summit match, world No. 15 Sindhu will go up against second seed and world No. 7 Wang Zhi Yi of China. Sindhu will be aiming for her third Olympic medal at the Paris Games in two months.
Though Sindhu has already beaten the Chinese twice in three matches, the Chinese nevertheless defeated him in the Arctic Open last year.
After seeming unmotivated after recovering from a knee injury early in the season, Sindhu—who won silver and bronze in the previous two Olympic games—appears to have regained her spark as she displayed some aggressive badminton play this week.
It has been some time since Sindhu overcame formidable opponents like Akane Yamaguchi, Tai Tzu Ying, Carolina Marin, and Chen Yu Fei, all of whom she is anticipated to face at the Paris Olympics.
