SportsBadminton
Sindhu beats Akechi in three games to reach French Open final against An Se-young
The two-time Olympic medallist won six points in a row from 15-16 down in the decider in Paris. She now faces the world No. 1, whom she has never beaten.
Key points
- PV Sindhu beat Hina Akechi 21-10, 20-22, 21-16 in 73 minutes.
- It is her second Super 750 final of the season, after winning the Japan Open in July.
- A win on Sunday would be her first ever over An Se-young.
PV Sindhu is through to the final of the French Open after a gritty three-game win over Japan’s Hina Akechi at the Arena Grand Paris on Saturday. She won 21-10, 20-22, 21-16 in an hour and 13 minutes.
Sindhu ran away with the first game, but Akechi led for much of the second. The Indian drew level and went ahead from 16-all, holding the lead for two points, before Akechi pegged her back and took the game to force a decider.
The third swung the other way. Sindhu was in control for most of it until Akechi came back to 14-all and then went 16-15 up. Sindhu answered with six straight points to close out the match.
It is Sindhu’s first French Open final and her second at Super 750 level this season, after she won the Japan Open in July. She was India’s last player left in the draw, after Ashmita Chaliha lost in the quarter-finals on Friday.
A familiar wall
The final on Sunday is the hardest test in women’s badminton. An Se-young of South Korea is the world No. 1 and the reigning world champion, and Sindhu has never beaten her. They have already met three times this year.
Sindhu said she was ready to make it a contest. “I have to give her a good fight, a tough fight. Every point matters,” she said. “But I think tomorrow is a different day. Every day is a new day.”
“I just have to go out there and give my best,” she added.