Shuttler Sindhu enters Macau Open semis

Leading Indian shuttler P.V. Sindhu entered the women's singles semi-final of the $120,000 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold defeating China's Li Han in a marathon encounter here Friday.

In their first career meeting, defending champion Sindhu was made to toil by the World No.17 Li but won the quarterfinal 21-17, 19-21, 21-16 in an hour and three minutes at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion here.

Two-time World Championships bronze medallist Sindhu started the first game on a bright note, taking a 5-1 lead before Li bridged the gap at 6-6. Sindhu re-took the lead by scoring three straight points which put her on the front till she finally won the game.

The second game saw neck-and-neck competition before the Chinese prevailed.

However, in the decider, Sindhu played positively and grabbed five successive points to take a 14-8 lead. Han matched the World No.11 Hyderabadi and picked up four points successively and reduced the deficit to one.

The 19-year-old Sindhu, however, showed her quality and finished the game without any hassles.

H.S. Prannoy will face Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the men's singles quarter-final later in the day.