Tokyo Olympics: PV Sindhu Faces Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying In Semi-Final Today

PV Sindhu Olympics semi-final: India' ace shuttler PV Sindhu will take on Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying in semi-final round of Women's Singles Badminton event of 2020 Tokyo Olympics today. If she manages to win this match, Sindhu will become the first Indian ever to play in two Olympic finals of an individual sport. The match between Sindhu and Ying stars at 3: 20 PM IST.

While Ying secured her place in the semi-finals by defeating Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon by 14-21, 21-18, 21-18 in the quarter-finals match, Sindhu, a Rio Olympics silver medalist fought hard to beat Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-13, 22-20 on Friday.

Whoever prevails in the match today will face off with the winner of the semi-final match between China's Chen Yufei and He Bingjiao to be held at 2: 30 today. While the winners of semi-final matches will compete for the gold medal on August 1 at 5: 50 PM, the players who won't make it through to the final round will compete for bronze on the same day at 5 PM.

Speaking about Sindu's preparation for the Olympics, her coach Srikanth Varma said that he had customised a high-performance fitness programme specifically for the shuttler. "It was designed according to her game, her body type, her strength levels. If any other athlete follows it, chances of injury are high.”

Match Highlights:

Set 1- After a tight contest, Sindhu lost the first game 18-21 against Ying in the women's singles semifinal. Sindhu is currently ranked seventh while Tai is the top-ranked women's singles shuttler in the world. Tai has won all her last three matches against Sindhu. Of the total 18 matches they have played against each other, Tai won 13 to Sindhu's five. Thus, the Indian shuttler, though kept a slender lead from the beginning, will now need stronger and error-free strikes to turn the tables in this nail-biting semifinal match.

Suggested Reads For You:

Who Is Kamalpreet Kaur? Indian Athlete Who Has Qualified For Women's Discus Throw Final

Boxer Lovlina Borgohain assures second medal of the Tokyo Olympics for India

Olympic Medalist Mirabai Chanu Appointed As Additional Superintendent Of Manipur Police