New Delhi: Rio Olympic silver medalist P.V. Sindhu of India defeated Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the India Open Super Series final at the Siri Fort Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday to win her maiden India Open title.
Although Sindhu went through a hard-fought 3-set thriller over World No 4 Korean Sung Ji Hyun in the semi-finals that lasted 76 minutes, Sindhu did not look like she was tired in the final. She quickly raced to a 6-1 lead in the opening set but Marin managed to level off at 16-16. The Indian held her nerve and managed to claim the first set 21-19.
Sindhu dominated the points from the start of second set to win the second set 21-16. Sindhu who currently ranked World No. 5, is expected climb to World No. 2 in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) ranking that will be released next Thursday after winning the India Open title.
In an all-Japanese women’s doubles final, No. 3 seeds Naoko Fukuman/Kurumi Yonao fell to a stunning 21-16, 19-21, 10-21 defeat at the hands of compatriots and No. 7 seeds Shiho Tanaka/Koharu Yonemoto on Sunday.
