PV Sindhu goes past top seed Han Yue to enter Malaysia Masters semifinals

Indian ace shuttler PV Sindhu went past top-seed Han Yae from China to qualify for the Malaysia Masters semifinals on Friday (May 24). Sindhu emerged on top of her Chinese opponent in the quarterfinal with a 21-13, 14-21, 21-12 win to make it to her maiden semifinals on the BWF tour in 2024. Given the 28-year-old has not been in great form of late, her progress into the last four bodes well in her preparations for Paris Olympics, in July-August.

Talking about her quarterfinal clash, Sindhu made a confident start with a lead in the opening game. While Han Yae made a strong comeback in the penultimate game, with a 21-14 win, Sindhu returned to her best in the final game to move ahead into the next round.

Sindhu will now face the winner of the other quarterfinal between Singapore’s Putri Kusuma Wardani and Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the semifinals. Ranked No.15 in the world, Sindhu will be desperate to win the Malaysian Masters. She is looking to win her maiden BWF title since winning the Singapore Open back in 2022. Since then, form and injury concerns have led to her downfall. However, the Indian star is trying her best to return to her consistent best with Paris 2024 just two months away.

Sindhu won a silver in Rio Olympics in 2016 and followed it up with a bronze in Tokyo 2020. Will Paris Olympics prove to be her luckiest with a gold? Only time will tell...