Thanks for tuning into Sportstar's live coverage of the Asian Championships women's singles semifinal where India's P V Sindhu lost 21-13, 19-21, 16-21 to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi. This was Nihit Sachdeva taking you through the action as it unfurled at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex in Manila, Philippines.
MATCH REPORT:
P V Sindhu wins her second Asian Championships bronze medal after a heartbreaking three-game loss to top-seed and defending champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the semifinal in Manila. Sindhu had the match in her control after clinching the opening game 21-13 and leading 13-11 in the second. However, a point penalty for time wasting for Sindhu completely changed the complexion of the match as from that point onwards, it was her opponent who found her rhythm and never let Sindhu regroup. Sindhu was always trailing in the decider and ultimately, lost the tie. The head-to-head between Sindhu and Yamaguchi is now 13-9 in the Indian's favour.
THIRD GAME
16-21: BRONZE FOR SINDHU. Yamaguchi wins the point, game and match as Sindhu sends one long.
15-20: Patient play from Yamaguchi before unleashing the cross-court smash. Five match points.
14-19: Yamaguchi's game to lose now. Five-point lead in the decider.
14-18: CHALLENGE FROM SINDHU but it is unsuccessful as the drive was just too powerful and went past the baseline.
14-17: Quick body smash from Sindhu who is clearly frustrated with how things turned in this match.
13-16: Yamaguchi tries to find the line but the drift takes it wide.
12-15: Three-point game now as Sindhu wins this one with a drop shot.
11-15: A series of drives from both players with Yamaguchi sending one into the net.
10-15: Accurate cross-court smash from Sindhu and Yamaguchi can send it only as far as the net.
9-14: RALLY OF THE MATCH. Unbelievable defense from Yamaguchi, retrieving one shot after another but unfortunately, sends one into the net at the end.
7-11: Four-point lead at the half-way stage in this decider for Yamaguchi.
7-10: Champion stuff from Yamaguchi. She went back making it look like she was going for the smash but at the very last moment, changed it into a drop shot.
7-9: CHALLENGE. This time it is the Indian who says that her shot landed inside the baseline. SHE IS RIGHT. BANG ON THE BASELINE.
6-9: Sindhu misses the line going for the down-the-line smash.
6-7: Yamaguchi lets it go but to her surprise, Sindhu's drive is measured and lands in.
5-7: CHALLENGE. Yamaguchi challenges the call but the hawkeye shows that Sindhu's return had landed right on the baseline.
4-6: Sindhu rightly decides to let one go. Yamaguchi's lift lands way past the baseline.
3-6: Exquisite slice from Sindhu. She kept pushing Yamaguchi backwards before unleashing the deceptive shot.
2-5: Sindhu decides very late before retrieving. Short lift and an easy cross-court smash for Yamaguchi.
1-4: Lift from Sindhu gets affected by the drift and lands past the baseline.
0-3: Solid start for Yamaguchi. Three straight points to begin the deciding third game.
SECOND GAME
19-21: EPIC RALLY TO END THE GAME AND YAMAGUCHI LEVELS THINGS UP. Lovely net play from both the shuttlers until Sindhu committed the error.
19-19: Sindhu drives one with full force and Yamaguchi barely manages to make contact with the shuttle.
18-19: Not enough elevation on the net shot for Yamaguchi.
17-18: Sindhu trying to her claw her way back into this game with the offense. Yamaguchi's weak return drifts in but not enough to find the line.
15-17: That point penalty may have just titled the game in Yamaguchi's favour. She seems to have found her rhythm.
15-14: One-point game. Erroneous net shot from Sindhu.
14-13: Yamaguchi adds to Sindhu's misery with a brilliant down-the-line smash.
14-12: WHOA. POINT PENALTY FOR SINDHU FOR TAKING TOO MUCH TIME BETWEEN POINTS. She had a received a warning earlier.
13-11: Great defending from world number two Yamaguchi as she retrieves two attempted kill shotss from Sindhu before sending a cross-court smash. Weak return from the Indian fails to cross the net.
12-10: CHALLENGE. Gentle drive from Yamaguchi has been called in and Sindhu has challenged the call. The replay shows the shuttle landed in. Three consecutive points for Yamaguchi.
12-7: Delightful drop shot from Sindhu. Yamaguchi falls to her knees but is unable to retrieve it.
11-6: WOW. From 1-4 down, Sindhu has a five-point lead at the mid-game interval.
10-6: Errors piling up on Yamaguchi's end. Another wasteful net shot.
8-5: This time though, Yamaguchi's down-the-line smash drifts wide.
7-5: Short lift from Sindhu and Yamaguchi has no hesitation in hitting the jump smash.
7-4: SIX CONSECUTIVE POINTS FOR SINDHU. Extra ordinary attack from the Indian.
4-4: Parity restored. Down-the-line smash from Sindhu perfectly lands inside the court.
3-4: Careless net shot from Yamaguchi.
2-4: Yamaguchi didn't know where that shot came from. Brutal body smash from Sindhu gets a weak return and she kills it effectively.
1-3: Some really good defensive work from Sindhu with all those body smashes coming from Yamaguchi. However, she pushes one into the net and the Japanese shuttler wins the point.
1-1: Error in judgment from Sindhu as Yamaguchi's lob lands well inside the baseline.
FIRST GAME
21-13: Yamaguchi tries to do the same but this time hits it into the net. Sindhu takes the first game in 16 minutes.
20-13: One game point saved with a beautiful cross court smash from Yamaguchi.
19-12: CHALLENGE. Sindhu uses her second challenger but just like the previous one, it is unsuccessful as the shuttle landed comfortably past the baseline.
19-11: CHALLENGE. Unsuccessful one this time from the Japanese shuttler as the shuttle had clearly landed wide.
18-11: Excellent cross-court smash from the ever-aggressive Sindhu. This is sensational stuff against the reigning world champion by the former world champion.
16-11: Yamaguchi wins two in a row. That's exactly what she needs. A bit of momentum.
15-8: Sindhu lets the wild drift do its job. It was a basic clear from Yamaguchi but it kept moving sideways and ultimately landed inside the alley.
14-7: Lift from Sindhu goes over the baseline. Still, a healthy lead for the bronze medallist from eight years ago.
12-6: Lovely drop shot from Yamaguchi catches Sindhu off guard.
11-5: Quick drive shots from Sindhu trouble Yamaguchi and the shuttle eventually takes a deflection off her racquet to go out of the court. Six-point lead at the mid-game interval for Sindhu.
9-4: Yamaguchi had Sindhu were she wanted but at the last moment, Sindhu went out of the way and the attempted body smash from Yamaguchi goes flying past the baseline.
8-2: Six consecutive points for Sindhu as she prepared for the slice but left the shuttle at the last moment realising it was going wide.
6-2: Four points in a row for the Indian. Just the kind of start she would have hoped for.
3-2: Cross-court smash from Sindhu lands well inside the line.
2-2: CHALLENGE. Quite early today. But it is an unsuccessful one from Sindhu as her shot was long.
2-1: Textbook down-the-line smash from Yamaguchi.
1-0: First point to Sindhu as the drift begins its work yet again. A gentle push from Yamaguchi but still, the shuttle goes over the baseline.
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Warm-up is done. Let the game begin!
11:00AM: The semifinal between P V Sindhu and Akane Yamaguchi is about to begin. Both shuttlers have stepped onto the court.
List of Indian medallists at Asian Championships:-
The only Indian shuttler to win gold at the Asian Championships is Dinesh Khanna and that happened in the second edition of the event when in 1965, Khanna beat Thailand's Sangob Rattanusorn 15-3, 15-11 in the final in Lucknow on November 14. Khanna later won bronze medal in the 1969 edition held in Manila.
10:55 AM: Asian Championships are being held for the first time since 2019. The 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Head to head: Matches played - 21, Wins for Sindhu - 13, Wins for Yamaguchi - 8
PREVIEW:
With a medal already guaranteed, India's ace shuttler and two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu will look to better her previous best at the Asian Championships when she faces defending champion Akane Yamaguchi in the women's singles semifinal on Saturday.
Sindhu has previously won an individual bronze as one of the losing semifinalists at the 2014 edition in Gimcheon . With a win over reigning world champion Yamaguchi, former world champion Sindhu could become only the second ever Indian shuttler to reach a singles final at the continental event.
Dinesh Khanna is the sole Indian badminton player to reach the Asian Championships singles final when in the second edition of the event in 1965, he beat Thailand's Sangob Rattanusorn 15-3, 15-11 in the final.
Sindhu vs He Bing Jiao, Asian Championships Quarterfinal HIGHLIGHTS
World number seven Sindhu has made it to the semifinals after tough wins in all three rounds. The Indian, who won got a scare but prevailed to beat Chinese Taipei's Pai Yu Po 18-21, 27-25, 21-9 in the opening round. In the second round, fourth-seeded Sindhu defeated Singapore's Yue Yann Jaslyn Hooi 21-16, 21-16 before a thrilling 21-9, 13-21, 21-19 victory against China's He Bing Jiao in the quarterfinals.
On the other hand, top-seeded Yamaguchi had a fairly comfortable start to the tournament with a 21-15, 21-9 win over Sindhu's compatriot Aakarshi Kashyap. However, in the second round, world number two Yamaguchi was stretched to three games before eventually beating Indonesia's Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi 21-23, 21-9, 21-19. Similarly, the Japanese shuttler had to dig deep to defeat Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong 9-21, 21-15, 21-17 in the last-eight fixture.
Sindhu and Yamaguchi have faced each other 21 times. In their most recent meeting, which was the semifinal of the World Tour Finals in December last year, it was Sindhu who came on top with a 21-15, 15-21, 21-19 win.
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