Badminton Asia Championships: PV Sindhu beats He Bingjiao to storm into semis, assured of a medal

The two-time Olympic medal winner PV Sindhu emerged as the victor in a thrilling match against China's He Bing Jiao to reach the women's singles semifinals of the Badminton Asia Championship on April 28 in Indonesia.

Owing to this victory, PV Sindhu is assured of winning at least the bronze medal in the Asian Championships, making a return after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The BWF World No. 7 PV Sindhu claimed a bronze medal in the 2014 edition held in Gimcheon, South Korea.

It was the 17th time PV Sindhu went face to face against her familiar Chinese rival. She got the better of the BWF World No. 9 He Bing Jiao to win 21-9, 13-21, 21-19 in a hard-fought quarter-final match. 

PV Sindhu went into the match with a 7-9 head-to-head record against He Bing Jiao. She got an 11-2 lead early in the first round and kept mounting the pressure to gain a 1-0 in the match. It took the Indian star mere 13 minutes to wrap up the opening round with her powerful smashed and excellent use of angles.

He Bin Jao bounced back strongly after the change of sides, gaining a 6-4 lead before winning the second round 13-21, sending the match into a decider.

In the final match, PV Sindhu went aggressively with her cross-court smashes after an early 2-2 stalemate, amassing an 11-5 lead before the last change of sides. He Bing Jiao mounted a counterattack and narrowed the lead to 15-16 as PV Sindhu's momentum slipped. During the match's final stages, Sindhu was down 18-16 as her slice went into the net. PV Sindhu prevailed and regained her lead with a body smash, gaining four points after being stopped by her Chinese counterpart three times. PV Sindhu marked her third consecutive victory against He Bing Jiao with this win.

PV Sindhu is set to play the semifinal match against Akane Yamaguchi on April 30.