Sindhu to take on Okuhara in semis

Sindhu and Okuhara have met four times in the past with the Japanese winning thrice.

P.V. Sindhu is a game trier, but the odds are in favour of Nozomi Okuhara.

India's shuttler P.V. Sindhu will face reigning All-England champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan for a place in the final of the women's singles event at the Rio Olympics here on Thursday.

Double World Championship bronze medallist Sindhu has been in very good form, dismissing two higher-ranked opponents -- Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying and World No. 2 Wang Yihan of China in the pre-quarter-final and the quarter-final respectively.

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Now, Sindhu faces a tricky opponent in Okuhara, who has been living a dream in a fast-rising career.

The Japanese won her first BWF Superseries title at the 2015 home Open. In 2016, the 21-year-old won the prestigious All-England Open, becoming the first Japanese woman player to achieve this feat in the last 39 years.

It will be the fifth meeting between them with the Japanese dominating thrice and having the upper hand at the last meeting at Badminton Asia Team Championships 2016 at Hyderabad.

Sindhu had just edged over Okuhara in the Badminton Asia Youth Under-19 Championships 2012 in the third and deciding game.

It remains to be seen as to how well Sindhu can tackle the deceptive game and rock solid defence of World No. 6 Okuhara in Rio.