PV Sindhu storms into semi-finals of BWF World Championships 2018

PV Sindhu kept India's medal hopes alive as she booked a place in the semis, while Saina Nehwal, Sai Praneeth and mixed doubles pair Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, made their quarterfinal exits at the BWF World Championships 2018.

PV Sindhu caused a major upset of the tournament as she ousted the defending champion, in what was rematch of last year's summit clash. The Indian ace defeated Japan's Nojomi Okuhara 21-17, 21-19 in 39 minutes to secure a spot in the semi-finals. 

The 23-year-old showed aggression and composure in both the games to trouble her Japanese opponent. Sindhu, who started slowly in both games was seen playing catch-up for majority of the match. But, the Commonwealth medalist held her nerves and forced her Japanese opponent to make a few errors, thus avenging her loss she endured in the summit clash last year.

In the earlier editions, Sindhu has two bronze medals and a silver medal from three appearances. With Sindhu being the lone Indian left in the competition, the star shuttler will be aiming for top honors when she faces third-seed Akane Yamaguchi from Japan in the semi-finals.

READ: PV Sindhu Ready To Bounce Back At World Championship And Asian Games

Earlier in the day, Saina Nehwal crashed out as she lost to Carolina Marin of Spain in straight games 21-6, 21-11 in 31 minutes  Marin was in complete control of the match right from the start. While Saina had a brief period of comeback just before the break but she couldn't sustain the momentum.

The lone Indian male shuttler left in the tournament, B. Sai Praneeth also faced a similar fate, suffering a straight games defeat at the hands of Kento Momota. The sixth seed Japanese player was too hot to handle for the Indian shuttler. Praneeth's fairytale run was brought to a halt as he was defeated 21-12, 21-12 in 39 minutes by his Japanese counterpart. 

There was further disappointment for the Indian contingent with mixed-doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy bowing out of the competition. The duo lost their quarter-final match to top-seeds Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China in straight games, 21-17, 21-10 in 37 minutes.