Hello and welcome to the live blog of the Indonesia Open final between P. V. Sindhu and Akane Yamaguchi.
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Second game
2:46pm: And she has done it! Akane Yamaguchi comes to the net with a flurry of attacks and seals it, beating PV Sindhu 21-15, 21-16 to lift the Indonesia Open title.
It's her first Super 1000 title and a big pay day, winning $87,500.
It was the first final of the year for Sindhu but she'll have to wait for a first title of the year. The Olympic silver medallist wasn't quite at her best today, against Yamaguchi who was completely on top of her game. Sindhu's back in action at the Japan Open from July 23.
2:46pm: Match point to Yamaguchi as Sindhu's shot goes long.
2:43pm: Yamaguchi is having some trouble with her knee. She's back on court and seems okay. 18-15 she leads.
2:42pm: Sindhu's shot from the backcourt goes wide and Yamguchi is only three points away from the title.
2:40pm: Sindhu manages to cut the deficit down to three but she smashes the next point into the net and Yamaguchi is slipping away. 17-13.
2:37pm: That's another error of judgement from Sindhu. She leaves a Yamaguchi shot at the edge. It sstays in. Yamaguchi leads 16-11. Time is running out for Sindhu.
2:36pm: An incredibly fast-paced rally! Sindhu bends back to reach Yamaguchi's shot. She misses it but it goes out anyway. 15-11 Yamaguchi leads.
2:34pm: Sindhu reacts well to a body shot, gets it back into Yamaguchi's court. She caught of gaurd and Sindhu wins the point. 14-10 to Yamaguchi.
2:33pm: Sindhu gets the time she needs and dispatches a cross court smash past a helpless Yamaguchi. Haven't seen much of this from Sindhu. Yamaguchi leads 13-9.
2:30pm: Yamaguchi goes into the mid-game interval with a 11-8 lead . Sindhu is frustrated. She lost the first game from the same position (leading 11-8 at the mid-game interval). A comeback is not improbable but Yamaguchi looks very sharp.
2:29pm: She hit that straight into Sindhu's face. It all counts. A 10-6 lead now.
2:28pm: An excellent rally comes to an end with a gentle touch over the net from Yamaguchi., Sindhu can't return and Yamaguchi leads 9-6.
2:26pm: Yamaguchi makes a mistake this time. She hits the net. 5-6. Yamaguchi regains the two-point advantage - 7-5 to the Japanese.
2:24pm: It's a brilliant smash at the net from Sindhu to cut the deficit to a point. 3-4 now. Yamaguchi tries another follow up smash but it's long. 4-4
2:21pm: Yamaguchi starts where she left off. Good attacking from the world number five as she follows up with a great smash. Sindhu gets one back but sends the next point long. Yamaguchi leads 2-1
First game
2:17pm: Yamaguchi wins first game 21-15.
Game point to Yamaguchi. Sindhu saves one with a good smash but Yamaguchi comes up with an even better smash on the next point to win the first game 21-15.
From 8-12 down to win the game, 21-15, it's been a great comeback.
2:16pm: Sindhu is losing her way. Yamaguchi has won the 11 of the last 13 points and she now leads 19-14 in the first game.
2:14pm: Yamaguchi has clawed her way back on top! She's attacking with great effect. 17-14 to the Japanese.
2:13pm: Yamaguchi has levelled at 14-14. In the process Sindhu also loses both her challenges. It was way out.
2:13pm: Yamaguchi loses both her challenges. It was out and Sindhu is back with a two-point lead. 14-12.
2:12pm: A brilliant dink at the net from Yamaguchi. There's no way Sindhu is getting there. The Indian still leads 13-12 .
2:10pm: That's three quick points in succession for Yamaguchi. Sindhu finds the net twice. 12-11 Sindhu leads.
2:09pm: It's another mistake from Yamaguchi as she fires one into the net. Sindhu serves a fault next. Still leads 12-9.
2:07pm: It's set up well for a cross court smash but Yamaguchi hits it wide. Sindhu leads 10-8. She makes a great retrieval at the edge on the next point and wins it.
Sindhu goes into the mid-game interval with a 11-8 lead.
2:05pm: Yamaguchi loses a challenge as well. Sindhu's shot is just in and she leads 9-8 .
2:04pm: Akane Yamaguchi is back into the lead as Sindhu's shot goes wide. 7-8. But Sindhu pulls it back as the Japanese hits the net. A scream from the Indian.
2:03pm: Yamaguchi is defending well. She levels again 6-6 .
2:01pm: Sindhu challenges a call. It's just in. She loses a challenge and Yamaguchi levels 5-5 .
There's quite a lot of support for Sindhu in Indonesia.
1:59pm: Sindhu takes the lead. From 0-3 down, she's 5-3 up. She's dominating now. Smashes at the net, right into Yamaguchi.
1:58pm: Sindhu is off the mark. Yamaguchi hits the net and Sindhu smashes it past her on the next point. 2-3
1:57pm: Sindhu leaves again and it's in again . Yamaguchi leads 3-0.
1:56pm: The first point of the match goes to Yamaguchi after an abrupt end to a long rally. Sindhu totally misjudges it and leaves, but it stays within the lines. 0-1 Yamaguchi.
1:50pm: The Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu is playing her first final of 2019. Hasn't been a great year for. But she has looked strong, both mentally and physcially, this tournament. Read the preview below fro more.
1:49pm: It's almost time. Sindhu and Yamaguchi have walked on to court, in quite some dramatic fashion. Lights and announcements and all.
1:42pm: Sayaka and Hirota win the women's doubles final 21-16, 21-18. And up next is the one we've been waiting for - Sindhu vs Yamaguchi.
1:02pm: In the all-Japanese women's doubles finals, Yuki Fushima and Sayaka Hirota lead the first game 18-15 against Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi.
The match starts after the women's doubles final. Live streaming on Hotstar.
Preview
Sindhu has really come into her own this tournament. She took a while to get going but the world number six hit heights she hasn't hit since her BWF World Tour Finals triumph in December 2018. After a shaky start to the tournament, she dominated the quarters and semifinals.
She thrashed Nozomi Okuhara 21-14, 21-7 in the quarterfinals and brought down an even bigger opponent in Chen Yu Fei in the semis. Chen, the All England Champion, put up a tough challenge in the first game, but Sindu held her own to win that and sealed the match with a 21-10 win in the second game.
The 24-year-old Indian, who is looking strong mentally and physically, is yet to win a title this year (this is also her first final in 2019) but that could change today, if she beats world number five and familiar rival Akane Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi also had a bit of a troublesome start but the German Open and Badminton Asia Open champion recovered well going on to beat world number one Tai Tzu Ying in the semifinals.
READ | Yamaguchi crushes World No.1, enters final
Head to head
Sindhu and Yamaguchi have met 14 times and the Indian has the better record by a huge margin. Sindhu has won 10 of their past encounters.
This will be their first meeting since Sindhu beat Yamguchi in a round robin match at the World Tour Finals in December. She also beat the Japanese in the semifinal of Asian Games 2018.
Where to watch
The match starts after the women's doubles final. Broadcast on Star Sports and 1 and Star Sports 1 HD. Live streaming on Hotstar.
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