PV Sindhu reached her first final of 2023, defeating Yeo Jia Min of Singapore in straight games in the semifinals of the Madrid Spain Masters Super 300. The Indian, who had a 3-0 record against her opponent prior to this game, including two wins in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, won out in an enthralling 48 minute contest that saw Sindhu come out on top by a 24-22 22-20 scoreline.
Sindhu set up a final against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia, who shocked top-seed Carolina Marin 10-21 21-15 21-10 in the other semifinal.
Sindhu began the game with an unforced error, before showing off her range with an unreturnable smash and delicate drop at the net to take the lead. Yeo proved her mettle with three consecutive points, the last of which was a down-the-line smash to take a 4-3 lead, before Sindhu responded in kind to level matters.
Both Sindhu and Yeo traded points thereafter, with the Singaporean moving her opponent all over the court, only for Sindhu to rise to the challenge. Yet, a fortuitous shot that caught the net cord and dropped down, followed by a cross-court smash saw Yeo take a 11-9 lead at the interval.
Yeo underlined her advantage in sharpness to quickly take a 16-13 lead with a lovely smash across Sindhu with the Indian flailing in despair. The errors continued to pour in which resulted in Yeo taking a 20-15 lead, only for the Singaporean to fluff her lines thereafter, with Sindhu saving five game points to level it 20-20
A scintillating rally followed, which ended with Yeo forcing Sindhu into a dive to retreat her smash, but in vain. Sindhu responded with a beautifully angled drop across court, an error at the net and then a smashed winner right at her opponent's body to make it 22-22. Yeo followed with a couple of errors, with Sindhu saving seven game points en route taking the first game 24-22 in 21 minutes.
Unbelievable match!! Pusarla V Shindu wins the first game 24-22 ������������ @BAI_Media @BadmintonESP @bwfmedia @BadmintonMadrid #Madridspainmasters2023 pic.twitter.com/LrSDnyBh1M
- MADRID SPAIN MASTERS (@madridmasters) April 1, 2023
Yeo profited off a few Sindhu errors to take a 4-1 lead in the second game, but the Indian's canny stroke play and well-judged leaves saw her take a 5-4 lead, which increased to 9-5 soon after as Yeo was forced into error after error.
There was a long break in play as the players debated the next point with the umpire, necessitating an eventual hawk-eye ruling that showed Sindhu's stroke had gone out. A couple of clever shots at the net saw the Indian take a 11-6 lead at the change of ends.
Yeo came out all guns blazing thereafter, cramping Sindhu for space and a trio of smashes saw her claim four consecutive points to make it 11-10. A few lengthy rallies followed, with Sindhu attempting to quicken things up only for Yeo to use all her powers of retrieval to stay in the game and claw it back to 14-14.
Yeo's composure continued to deny her though, as Sindhu took advantage of a couple of errors to take the next two points, before a delicious smash and drop combo saw her take a 17-14 lead, with the Singaporean's despairing dive taking a bit of skin off her knee that required treatment.
Sindhu then lost both of her challenges within 30 seconds, with Yeo taking the next point to level things at 17-17. Composure deserted Yeo once more as Sindhu profited off a couple of shots into the net to make it 20-18. Sindhu went on to regret her lost challenges, as a shot from Yeo that appeared to be out was called in, and then the Indian shot into the net thereafter to lose two match points.
A long floater into the back court went long from Yeo handing Sindhu another match point, which was then converted as Yeo fluffed her lines at the net, losing the game 22-20 and the match in 48 minutes.