Swiss Open: PV Sindhu reached in final after a gap of 18 months

Badminton world champion PV Sindhu reached the final of the Swiss Open Super 300 tournament with a 22–20, 21–10 win over Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark. Sindhu will now face Spanish Olympic champion Carolina Marin in the final.

It is the Olympic silver medalist’s first final since winning the World Championship title in August 2019.

“I’m glad I’m in the finals. It’s a good win for me today and playing against Mia was kind of a revenge because I’d say I lost against her in Thailand. So, that win was very important.” For me, ”Sindhu said in quotes tweeted by the Sports Authority of India (Sai).

She added, “Hope to reach the finals. Carolina is a good player, so it won’t be an easy match. I have to play my 100 percent.”

Sindhu said she left Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad and also practiced in Gachibowli Stadium in the city.

“Training in a stadium as big as this stadium, as I got used to it and it has helped me a lot here (sic). I will thank everyone once, BAI [Badminton Association of India], Sai [Sports] Authority of India], Telangana. Minister of State and Sports, all the support and help for everything I needed for training and preparation at Gachibowli Stadium, “she said.

She is chasing her fourth consecutive title, having won two Thailand Open tournaments and the BWF World Tour Finals in January.

The Swiss Open is the first tournament to fall within the restructured qualification period for the Tokyo Olympics which will take place from 23 July this year. The qualification period ends on 15 June and with the top 16 in the world rankings automatically qualifying, the seventh-placed Sindhu is well placed to place in the quadrennial event.

Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth could not overtake Denmark’s world No.1 Viktor Axelsen in the men’s singles semi-finals. Srikanth lost 13–21, 19–21 in a 41-minute match. Second seeded men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also lost 16-21, 21-23 in the semi-finals.

Top seed Marin defeated Thai third seed Pornpavi Chochuvong 21-15, 20-22, 21-19 to enter the finals.