Copenhagen, October 17
Indian two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu made a stunning comeback against China's Han Yue to advance to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Denmark Open badminton tournament in Odense on Thursday.
Sindhu, ranked world number 18, lost the opening game to the world number 7 Chinese player but roared back to win 18-21, 21-12, 21-16 in one hour and three minutes, according to Olympics.com.
After being tied at 4-4, Han gained the upper hand with five consecutive points in the first game. Despite Sindhu saving four game points towards the end, Han managed to edge ahead and take the first game.
In the second game, Sindhu turned things around, putting pressure on her opponent from the start and easily winning to take the match to an exciting decider.
The third game was closely contested. Han, who has won the Hong Kong and Arctic Opens this year, led by four points at the mid-game interval. However, Sindhu fought back, winning four consecutive points. At one stage, Han led 16-15, but from there, the Indian won the next six points effortlessly to seal the match in her favour, improving her head-to-head record against Han to 7-1.
Sindhu's next opponent in the quarterfinals on Friday will be either world number 8 Gregoria Mariska Tunjung or local shuttler Mia Blichfeldt.
Sindhu is the last remaining Indian player in the tournament, with Lakshya Sen and Malvika Bansod having been eliminated in the first round.