Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu produced a comfortable straight-game win over 2013 World Champion Ratchanok Intanon at the USD 400,000 Hong Kong Super Series to seal a second successive final spot here today.

Last year&#39;s finalist, Sindhu moved well and seemed always ready for the shuttle. She dominated the front court, defended well and maintained her attack to outclass the world no&nbsp;6 Thai 21-17 21-17 in a 43-minute women&#39;s singles match.

It was their sixth meeting and Sindhu was lagging 1-4 in the head-to-head count. The only time the Indian had beaten Intanon was at the 2015 Korea Open when the match went to the decider.

Sindhu, a silver medallist at World Championship, will next face top seed and world no. 1 Tai Tzu Ying, hoping to emulate Saina Nehwal and Prakash Padukone, who had clinched this title in 2010 and 1982.

Locking horns with Intanon after 18 months, Sindhu showed her prowess as she countered the deceptive strokes of her rival with her better defence, which included superb backhand returns and attacking game plan.

In the opening game, Sindhu jumped to a 6-2 lead early on and continued her march ahead, despite some good-looking strokes from the Thai player.

A cross court smash from the Indian left her opponent stranded and allowed Sindhu to grab a 11-7 lead after seven minutes of play. The Thai player went long a few times as Sindhu lead 17-9.

Intanon produced a superb cross court dribble to break the rhythm but she again found the net.

The Thai constructed another post with an angled shot to draw Sindhu near the court and then produced a winner on her backhand. But the Indian once again came up with a quick straight return from the front court to move to game point.

The Thai girl produced sensational disguise return to bamboozle Sindhu twice and then the Indian found the net as Intanon grabbed three points.

She again set up Sindhu with her angled return to take another point but the Indian grabbed the opening game when Intanon&#39;s backhand return went to the net.

In the second game, Intanon had a 3-1 lead before Sindhu drew parity. An onrushing smash helped Sindhu take a 5-4 lead.

However, two unforced errors again gave the lead back to Intanon. The Thai shuttle then sent a backhand return wide and it was 6-6.

Intanon continued to commit errors, finding it difficult to get the bird away. Sindhu produced another instinctive reactionary stroke to put the shuttle across to move to 10-6 lead with Intanon again going wide.

It was Sindhu who had a healthy advantage at the mid-game breather.

A brilliant forehand defensive return after the break left a stretched Intanon. The Thai player produced a body line smash and returned on Sindhu backhand to grab two points. But the Indian then unleashed a smash to move to 13-9.

Intanon continued to snap at her heels, making it 12-13 with her immaculate placements. A body smash and a controlled deep return from Sindhu helped her to extend the lead to 16- 13.

A magnificent on the line smash was followed by two miscued strokes as Sindhu led 18-14. The Indian faltered with a net return and then Intanon produced a straight smash to make it 16-18.

However, the Thai sent the shuttle out again to give another point to Sindhu.

Intanon grabbed another point with a precise return before she went wide to give match point opportunity to Sindhu, who grabbed it after winning a referral following another wide shot from the Thai shuttler.

The badminton ace dominated the front court, defended well and maintained her attack to outclass the world no?6 Thai Ratchanok Intanon 21-17 21-17 in a 43-minute women's singles match

Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu produced a comfortable straight-game win over 2013 World Champion Ratchanok Intanon at the USD 400,000 Hong Kong Super Series to seal a second successive final spot here today. Last year's finalist, Sindhu moved well and seemed always ready for the shuttle. She dominated the front court, defended well and maintained her attack to outclass the world no 6 Thai 21-17 21-17 in a 43-minute women's singles match. It was their sixth meeting and Sindhu was lagging 1-4 in the head-to-head count. The only time the Indian had beaten Intanon was at the 2015 Korea Open when the match went to the decider. Sindhu, a silver medallist at World Championship, will next face top seed and world no. 1 Tai Tzu Ying, hoping to emulate Saina Nehwal and Prakash Padukone, who had clinched this title in 2010 and 1982. Locking horns with Intanon after 18 months, Sindhu showed her prowess as she countered the deceptive strokes of her rival with her better defence, which included superb backhand returns and attacking game plan. In the opening game, Sindhu jumped to a 6-2 lead early on and continued her march ahead, despite some good-looking strokes from the Thai player. A cross court smash from the Indian left her opponent stranded and allowed Sindhu to grab a 11-7 lead after seven minutes of play. The Thai player went long a few times as Sindhu lead 17-9. Intanon produced a superb cross court dribble to break the rhythm but she again found the net. The Thai constructed another post with an angled shot to draw Sindhu near the court and then produced a winner on her backhand. But the Indian once again came up with a quick straight return from the front court to move to game point. The Thai girl produced sensational disguise return to bamboozle Sindhu twice and then the Indian found the net as Intanon grabbed three points. She again set up Sindhu with her angled return to take another point but the Indian grabbed the opening game when Intanon's backhand return went to the net. In the second game, Intanon had a 3-1 lead before Sindhu drew parity. An onrushing smash helped Sindhu take a 5-4 lead. However, two unforced errors again gave the lead back to Intanon. The Thai shuttle then sent a backhand return wide and it was 6-6. Intanon continued to commit errors, finding it difficult to get the bird away. Sindhu produced another instinctive reactionary stroke to put the shuttle across to move to 10-6 lead with Intanon again going wide. It was Sindhu who had a healthy advantage at the mid-game breather. A brilliant forehand defensive return after the break left a stretched Intanon. The Thai player produced a body line smash and returned on Sindhu backhand to grab two points. But the Indian then unleashed a smash to move to 13-9. Intanon continued to snap at her heels, making it 12-13 with her immaculate placements. A body smash and a controlled deep return from Sindhu helped her to extend the lead to 16- 13. A magnificent on the line smash was followed by two miscued strokes as Sindhu led 18-14. The Indian faltered with a net return and then Intanon produced a straight smash to make it 16-18. However, the Thai sent the shuttle out again to give another point to Sindhu. Intanon grabbed another point with a precise return before she went wide to give match point opportunity to Sindhu, who grabbed it after winning a referral following another wide shot from the Thai shuttler.

PV Sindhu sails into Hong Kong Open final

National champion Sameer Verma stunned World No&nbsp;3 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark to reach his maiden Super Series final while Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu made it to her second successive summit clash in women&#39;s singles at the Hong Kong Open, here today. 
 
It was double bonanza for India at the Hong Kong Open, the last Super Series tournament of the season, as Sameer and Sindhu dished out some superb performances to make it a super Sunday for badminton fans tomorrow. 
 
The 22-year-old Sameer, who is the younger brother of Sourabh Verma, showed tremendous athleticism and accuracy in his strokes to notch up a hard-fought 21-19 24-22 win over Denmark&#39;s Jorgensen, who had clinched the prestigious China Super Series Premier last week. 
 
Sameer, who came into the tournament as a qualifier, will fight for the title against local favourite Ng Ka Long Angus. 
 
Newly-crowned China Open champion, Sindhu, meanwhile, continued her rampaging run and disposed local shuttler Cheung Ngan Yi 21-14 21-16 in a 46-minute match to set up a clash with Chinese Taipei&#39;s Tai Tzu Ying, seeded fourth, to lay claim for her second super series title. 
 
It is a rare occasion when two Indians have reached the finals of the men&#39;s and women&#39;s singles competition of any particular tournament. For records, Saina Nehwal and K Srikanth had made the finals at 2014 China Open and 2015 India Open and both had emerged victorious. 
 
The highlight of the day was Sameer&#39;s stunning win over Jorgensen, who reached the finals at China Open 
 
Super Series Premier, Japan Open (Runner-up) and Indonesia Open Super Series Premier (Runner-up) this year. 
 
More than 40 ranking points separated World No. 43 Sameer from Jorgensen but all that didn&#39;t matter today as the Indian retrieved everything thrown at him by the Dane in the 46-minute fast-paced battle. 
 
In one of the finest wins of his career, Sameer punched way above his weight as he opened up a massive 12-7 lead early on in the opening game. However, Jorgensen ensured he was not far behind as he clawed back to reduce the margin to 10-11 at the interval. 
 
Jorgensen made Sameer run across the court but the young Indian was up for it most times and matched the Dane stroke for stroke to be 17-17. 
 
Sameer marched ahead after that and grabbed three game points when the Dane hit the net. 
 
A gruelling rally ensued with Jorgensen relying on his wristy returns and soft net play to save two points. Sameer finally pocketed the first game after winning a video referral when Jorgensen hit long. 
 
In the second game, Jorgensen started on an aggressive note, opening up a healthy 11-5 lead at the interval. But a gritty Sameer fought back to draw level at 12-12 and then took a slender 13-12 lead. 
 
(PTI)

Sameer and Sindhu dished out some superb performances to make it a super Sunday for badminton fans tomorrow

National champion Sameer Verma stunned World No 3 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark to reach his maiden Super Series final while Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu made it to her second successive summit clash in women's singles at the Hong Kong Open, here today. It was double bonanza for India at the Hong Kong Open, the last Super Series tournament of the season, as Sameer and Sindhu dished out some superb performances to make it a super Sunday for badminton fans tomorrow. The 22-year-old Sameer, who is the younger brother of Sourabh Verma, showed tremendous athleticism and accuracy in his strokes to notch up a hard-fought 21-19 24-22 win over Denmark's Jorgensen, who had clinched the prestigious China Super Series Premier last week. Sameer, who came into the tournament as a qualifier, will fight for the title against local favourite Ng Ka Long Angus. Newly-crowned China Open champion, Sindhu, meanwhile, continued her rampaging run and disposed local shuttler Cheung Ngan Yi 21-14 21-16 in a 46-minute match to set up a clash with Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying, seeded fourth, to lay claim for her second super series title. It is a rare occasion when two Indians have reached the finals of the men's and women's singles competition of any particular tournament. For records, Saina Nehwal and K Srikanth had made the finals at 2014 China Open and 2015 India Open and both had emerged victorious. The highlight of the day was Sameer's stunning win over Jorgensen, who reached the finals at China Open Super Series Premier, Japan Open (Runner-up) and Indonesia Open Super Series Premier (Runner-up) this year. More than 40 ranking points separated World No. 43 Sameer from Jorgensen but all that didn't matter today as the Indian retrieved everything thrown at him by the Dane in the 46-minute fast-paced battle. In one of the finest wins of his career, Sameer punched way above his weight as he opened up a massive 12-7 lead early on in the opening game. However, Jorgensen ensured he was not far behind as he clawed back to reduce the margin to 10-11 at the interval. Jorgensen made Sameer run across the court but the young Indian was up for it most times and matched the Dane stroke for stroke to be 17-17. Sameer marched ahead after that and grabbed three game points when the Dane hit the net. A gruelling rally ensued with Jorgensen relying on his wristy returns and soft net play to save two points. Sameer finally pocketed the first game after winning a video referral when Jorgensen hit long. In the second game, Jorgensen started on an aggressive note, opening up a healthy 11-5 lead at the interval. But a gritty Sameer fought back to draw level at 12-12 and then took a slender 13-12 lead. (PTI)

India's Sameer Verma, PV Sindhu storm into Hong Kong Open finals

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PV Sindhu sails into Hong Kong Open final

India's Sameer Verma, PV Sindhu storm into Hong Kong Open finals