Paris, 23 October (H.S.): India’s star badminton player P. V. Sindhu advanced to the women’s singles semifinals of the French Open with an impressive straight-games victory over Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-Chian on Friday. Sindhu defeated her opponent 21–13, 21–14 in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, India’s Ashmita Chaliha bowed out of the tournament after losing a hard-fought quarterfinal against Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21–10, 17–21, 21–16.

The two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu began the contest aggressively, putting Chiu under pressure from the outset. She comfortably secured the opening game 21–13. Sindhu maintained her dominance in the second game, establishing a commanding 11–2 lead at the interval. Although Chiu attempted to stage a comeback, the Indian shuttler kept control of the match and sealed the game 21–14 to book her place in the last four.

In the semifinals, Sindhu is scheduled to face the winner of the quarterfinal between Indonesia’s fifth-seeded Putri Kusuma Wardani and Japan’s Hina Akechi.

Earlier, Sindhu had defeated Japan’s Riko Gunji 21–12, 21–16 in a 44-minute encounter to reach the quarterfinals. She had faced a stiff challenge in her opening match against Thailand’s Supanida Katethong, eventually prevailing 21–14, 8–21, 23–21.

In the deciding game against Katethong, Sindhu squandered an opportunity to close out the match when she was just two points away from victory, subsequently losing 11 consecutive points. However, she regained her composure at the crucial stage to secure the win.

## Ashmita Chaliha Gives World Champion Nozomi Okuhara a Tough Fight

Meanwhile, India’s Ashmita Chaliha put up a determined fight against experienced Japanese shuttler Nozomi Okuhara but fell short in the deciding game. Okuhara eventually prevailed 21–10, 17–21, 21–16 to advance to the semifinals.

Okuhara made a strong start to the opening game, racing to a 5–1 lead and maintaining an 11–6 advantage at the interval. The Japanese player continued to dictate the proceedings and comfortably claimed the first game 21–10.

Ashmita responded strongly in the second game. The two players were level at 4–4 in the early exchanges, but the Indian shuttler subsequently raised the tempo, producing sharp attacking shots and effective net play to take an 11–5 lead at the interval.

Okuhara fought back to level the score at 15–15, but Ashmita held her nerve at crucial moments to win the game 21–17 and force a decider.

Ashmita began the deciding game positively, moving ahead 4–2. However, Okuhara mounted a comeback to establish a 7–4 lead. The Indian continued to battle, drawing level at 9–9, 12–12 and 14–14.

Errors crept into Ashmita’s game during the closing stages, allowing Okuhara to move ahead 20–16. The Japanese shuttler converted her first match point to seal the victory.

Earlier in the tournament, Ashmita had pulled off a major upset by defeating Japan’s three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi 21–19, 21–18 in the second round.

The 27-year-old Assam-born shuttler, ranked 36th in the world, achieved a significant milestone by reaching the quarterfinals of a BWF Super 750 tournament for the first time. However, her impressive run ended just short of a place in the semifinals.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar