Good afternoon! Welcome to the highlights of badminton's ultimate tournament — the BWF World Tour Finals as we buckle up for some adrenaline rush!
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21- 17 But that is it! It was a struggle that lasted 68 minutes but at the end Yuqi does it as Sameer goes down fighting. Shi Yuqi will meet the Son Wan-Ho vs Kento Momota winner in the finals on Sunday.
20-17 "No! Not that easy to get away," says Verma as he pockets back-to-back points.
19-14 Yuqi is elated, his coach reflects the same emotion. Sameer just letting the match slip through his fingers now.
17-12 Yuqi's game has been studded with wide smashes and that has been his opponent's undoing for quite some time now.
16-10 The Indian looks a bit exhausted now with Shi Yuqi exploiting every bit of the situation.
13-9 If Sameer shines, Yuqi outshines. Sameer continues with his diving defenses but this time Yuqi hits the blind spot. One point!
11-9 Break! Sameer finds the net now as Yuqi bags a freebie.
9-9 Power meets defence. A smash is countered with a flick. Shi Yuqi fails to make it across.
9-8 Yuqi finds the net, again!
8-6 Sameer grazes his finger against the court during a diving defence. Has a bandage on now on his bleeding finger. A Chinese advantage?
7-4 Sameer miscalculates the power in his reply. Shi Yuqi does not even go for it. Out of bounds!
5-1 A similar contest up for the show. Yuqi has a four-point lead in no time.
THIRD GAME (DECIDER)
22-20 Yuqi, Yuqi, Yuqi. What a man! Classy tactical show in the dying minutes keeps the match alive and both the players still have everything to play for.
20-20 Sameer Verma's momentum carries him to his left and Shi Yuqi exploits the opportunity to perfection.
19-19 That's a one time too many that the Chinese has found the nets today.
16-16 Give that man the match already! Literally makes me jump off my seat. A lengthy rally sees some spectacular diving returns off Verma. The Chinese who had the advantage hands over a point.
14-14 Yuqi clings on and brings the scoreline back at level with a wonderful low hit. Sameer miscalculates, as he lets it go but it lands well within the line.
11-13 Error of judgment of pace from Yuqi. Off-bounds!
10-12 Shi Yuqi has been trying to control rallies with flat pushes regularly. And wow! Sameer fires another to bring another point home. What a match this is turning out to be!
8-9 "Come on!" shouts the Indian as he takes the lead finding rhythm of late. As Sameer continues to give way to his emotions yelling with each point coming his way, Shi Yuqi has been surprisingly calm and inexpressive throughout.
8-4 Wow! A giant leap for Sameer Verma. Verma is lightning quick to notice Yuqi lose balance and he grabs the opportunity with a smash timed to perfection.
7-3 An impressive show by the Chinese shuttler! He effectively switches between his offensive and defensive game to confuse Verma who lands one off-limits.
4-0 That's some comeback from Shi Yuqi! Four back-to-back points in the bag already.
SECOND GAME
12-21 And that concludes the first game. Shi Yuqi continues to commit the same mistakes again and again. He cannot afford to gift points away like that.
11-16 Verma is literally chasing Shi Yuqi around the court now. Yuqi's momentum is acting against him.
10-14 Three back-to-back points for Verma who has his defensive game up and working. Point to be noted, he is also pouncing on to grab the right opportunities to hit back at the Chinese.
10-11 There's the mid-break! Sameer successfully nailing in his replies to whatever Yuqi throws at him.
8-9 As both players shared a wonderful rally, Sameer takes the lead with a powerful shot. Beats Shi Yuqi completely.
6-5 Whoa! The World No 4 jumps up to rain down a body smash at Sameer. Sameer had no anwer to that.
3-1 A stroke of genius from Sameer Verma. A series of low shots encourages Verma to fire cross-court. No way the Chinese would have anticipated that move!
1-0 And Yuqi opens the scoring with a delightful smash.
Both the players are out on to the court. Get ready for a high-voltage contest here!
25-23 And that is it! A fitting conclusion to an epic semifinal contest. You have to feel for Intanon but then again Sindhu was too strong for her throughout. PV Sindhu now meets World No 2 Nozomi Okuhara in the title clash on Sunday.
23-23 A game of nerves going on here! Intanon knew it the moment she went for it. Too much power on that shot hands Sindhu a point.
22-22 Wonderful point for Intanon! Sindhu gives in to the momentum as the Thai fires to her right. In no way could Sindhu go for that.
21-21 Intanon lunges forward but fails to make it. Scores level yet again!
19-20 Game Point! We see a repeat of the last point from Intanon. Sindhu has no reply to that smash from the World No 8.
18-18 Another smash from Intanon sees the scores level again. Sindhu has her guard up now? She clearly looks a lot more defensive as Intanon keeps pressing the "aggression" button.
15-15 The pressure is getting to Sindhu now. She looks a bit frustrated after she hands over two freebies to Intanon.
14-11 Out of bounds! Too much power on that shot costs Intanon one point as the shuttle lands well off limits.
Sindhu pockets four consecutive points now, after the break.
The winner of this contest meets World No 2 Nozomi Okuhara in the title clash.
10-9 What was that? The Thai shuttler yells as a lengthy rally comes to an end. She has found the aggression switch now, wherever it was. A series of powerful shots sees a booming smash in the epilogue.
7-7 Intanon coming back into the game as she is seen going for successive body smashes now.
6-4 What about that for revenge? Intanon puts up a replay of what Sindhu does in the last rally.
6-3 Sindhu uses all of her height and power to rain down an impeccable smash at Intanon.
5-2 And before you could bat an eye, Sindhu already has a three point lead in the second game. What fine touch she is in!
SECOND GAME
21-16 PV Sindhu bags the first game capitalising on the unforced errors coming from the Thai.
17-15 Back-to-back points for the Hyderabadi now! A series of unforced errors and wrong judgements on the part of Ratchanok Intanon.
14-13 Chants of " India Jeetega! " rent the air as we see a fine rally between the players ending with the shuttle landing out of bounds. Intanon ends up handing a freebie to Sindhu.
12-12 What a return that from Intanon! Sindhu had no clue where that shuttle was headed to.
11-9 The mid-break sees Sindhu with a lead of two points over Intanon.
7-7 It has been a tight contest so far between the two players. Yet another error from PV Sindhu sees the scoreline level at the moment.
FIRST GAME
World No 6 PV Sindhu who advanced into the semis after registering a comfortable win against Beiwen Zhang looks all set to take on Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon.
Meanwhile, in the other contest later in the day, Sameer Verma takes on the All England champion Shi Yuqi for a shot at the final.
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