Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying (???) booked a slot in the women’s singles semifinals at the Malaysian Open after outdueling Pusarla V. Sindhu of India in a match that went to a deciding game on Friday.
The world No. 2 and second-seeded Tai defeated world No. 7 Sindhu 13-21, 21-15, 21-13 in a quarterfinal match that lasted seven minutes shy of an hour at the Super 750 tournament at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur.
It was the 21st meeting between Tai and Sindhu, with the Taiwanese leading the head-to-head 15-5 before the match. Tai also extended her winning streak against Sindhu to six matches in a row.
In the semifinal, Tai will next face the winner of the quarterfinal match between fourth seed Chen Yufei of China and sixth-seeded Nozomi Okuhara of Japan.
Back at the match on Friday, Tai played with the drift at the start of the opening game as Sindhu secured an early lead at the mid-game interval of 11-7. The Indian shuttler then extended her lead to win the first game by eight points.
Tai rallied in the second game, scoring eight consecutive points to lead 10-1, but Sindhu fought back with seven consecutive points of her own to trail by only two points at 17-15.
However, Tai was able to step up her work rate to finish off the game with four consecutive points and force a third and deciding game.
In the third game the scores remained close at 16-13, before Tai had a four shot surge that took her to match point at 20-13.
Putting on a show for the audience, the Taiwanese player returned with a breathtaking behind the back shot, followed by a backhand which Sindhu hit wide.
Tai has been on a roll since the Thailand Open, which she won in May after a poor German Open in mid-March when she was knocked out in the final 16 round. In June, she won her second title of the year at the Indonesian Open.
Tai remains keen to defend the women’s singles title she won at the Malaysia Open in 2013 as well as 2017-2019. The event was not held in 2020 and 2021.
The Malaysia Open, held from June 28 to July 3, carries a total purse of US$675,000 (NT$20.12 million).
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel