29/07/2021
๐ฎ๐ณ P.V.Sindhu looking ready for tougher opposition, got past a tricky rival in Mia Blichfeldt 21-15, 21-13 for a place in the quarterfinals of the Olympics badminton competition on Thursday, July 29, 2021.
On Friday, Sindhu plays fourth-seeded home favourite Akane Yamaguchi, who defeated 12th-seeded Korean Kim Gaeun 21-17, 21-18.
Sindhuโs fifth victory over the Danish rival in six encounters was also her easiest in terms of points conceded. In the months leading to her World title in 2019, the lanky Indian beat Mia thrice.
This year, when competitions began in January, Mia surprised Sindhu in three games at the Thailand Open before the Indian avenged the loss at the Swiss Open in March.
On this day, Sindhu dropped the first two points and never trailed thereafter. Barring a brief period during the first game when she let Mia rally from 6-13 to close the gap to 15-16, Sindhu stayed in ontrol.
In fact, the decisive swing in the contest came when Sindhu won the last five points of the first game and the first five points of the second. The 10-point streak underlined Sindhu's resolve and severely dented Mia's hopes of recovery. Despite her best efforts, Mia stayed at least three points behind Sindhu most of the time.
The first game was well contested. Sindhu displayed a fine variety of strokes and was quick to attack on both flanks as she kept increasing the lead. If Mia managed to close the gap, it was mainly because she found a way to push Sindhu away from the net and then unleash down the line smashes, mainly on the Indian's backhand. A couple of mish*ts from Sindhu also gave Mia some easy points.
For the second day, Sindhuโs defence from the forecourt looked effective. Again, she did not opt for the toss-and-drop game and focused more on shorter returns, close to the net. Her trademark forehand flicks from the backcourt that twice caught Mia off-guard were a treat to watch.
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