Madrid Spain Masters 2023: PV Sindhu enters 1st final of the season

MADRID: Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu stormed into the final of the women's singles competition at the ongoing Madrid Spain Masters 2023 with a win over Singapore's Yeo Jia Min on Saturday.

As per Olympics.com, Sindhu emerged victorious by 24-22, 22-20 in her semifinal clash.

PV Sindhu, ranked 11th worldwide in BWF Rankings, was off to a slow start as her opponent gained a lead of 13-8. But Sindhu fought back and reduced the deficit to 15-17.

Yeo Jia made it 20-17, but still failed as Sindhu saved three game points and took the lead. The Indian won the first set by 24-22.

In the second game, PV Sindhu continued with her momentum. She took a slender lead but her opponent fought back hard to level the scores at 17-17.

Sindhu, upped the ante and clinched the second game by 22-20 to win the match in 48 minutes to book a clash with Spain's Rio Olympic 206 champion and rival Carolina Marin or Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the summit clash.

It will be the first final of the year for the Indian shuttler. With this win, Sindhu has a 4-0 record against Yeo Jia.

They previously met at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year.

Sindhu won that match in straight games as well and is yet to drop a game against the Singaporean.

The 27-year-old Sindhu struggled for form at the start of the season following a long injury lay-off after clinching gold at CWG 2022 last year.

Before this tournament, PV Sindhu had failed to progress beyond the second round in any of the BWF World Tour event she competed in this year.