22.43 IST: Marin beats Sindhu 21-17, 21-15
Marin has ended Sindhu's run at the World Championships. She got to match point with a lovely net-exchange and took the match at the first time of asking. She is into the World Championship finals while Sindhu has to be content with a second successive bronze medal.
The match lasted 47 minutes. Marin lets out a scream of delight while Sindhu walks off looking crestfallen. That's it from us. Thanks for following along.
22.43 IST: Marin leads Sindhu 21-17, 19-14
Marin looks in total control here as she stretches her lead to five points. Can Sindhu pull off a miracle comeback?
22.41 IST: Marin leads Sindhu 21-17, 17-14
Sindhu looks tired as she pushes a drop shot wide. That is four straight points for Marin. Sindhu gets a bit of luck as the shuttle spins over the top of the net to keep her in touch. Marin looks like she has much more time to pay her shots though and a superb sliced drop from the back of the court gives the European Champion a three-point lead.
22.37 IST: Marin lead Sindhu 21-17, 15-13
Marin turns defense in to attack brilliantly, fighting off a couple of smashes from Sindhu before pouncing on a short return. A delicate cross-court forehand skips off the top of the net for another winner. She is moving Sindhu all over the court at the moment and looks in control.
22.37 IST: Marin leads Sindhu 21-17, 13-13
This is where Marin took control in the first game. She wins the first point after the break but a smash down the line from Sindhu restores her two-point lead. Marin quickly draws level at 12-12 with some controlled, attacking badminton before she pushes a forehand long.
A lovely drop shot from the Spanish player enables her to level the scores again.
22.32 IST: Marin leads Sindhu 21-17,, 9-11
Sindhu slaps a cross-court forehand wide. Another simple mistake from the India player. She needs to tighen up her game. She does just that to lead at the interval.
While the players take a breather and get some advice from their coaches, the stadium rocks to Call Me Maybe.
22.29 Marin leads Sindhu 21-17, 8 - 8
Somehow Marin gets a Sindhu kill back over her head after a long rally and Sindhu can’t turn around and chase after it. That was like a top spin lob over a player at the net in tennis. It gives Marin a temporary lead at 7-6 but she misses a simple backhand to allow Sindhu to draw level.
Sindhu smashes in to Marin’s body, letting her opponent know she won’t go quietly.
Another error allows Marin to draw level again though.
22.25 Marin leads Sindhu 21-17, 5 - 6
A cross-court smash from Sindhu lands on the line but she follows it up with a smash into the net. That’s been the problem in this match. Too many unforced errors. Marin looking very much in control to this point.
The commentators feel Sindhu is feeling the pressure of being in this position. She was the underdog in the last game but not in this game.
Just as I type this, Sindhu plays a lovely smash down the line to take the lead.
22.23 IST: Second game: Marin leads Sindhu 21-17, 2 - 2
Sindhu has been in this position before. She lost the opening game in both her previous matches. Marin has been controlling most of the rallies. Sindhu needs to find a way to disturb her opponent’s rhythm. She also needs to cut down on her unforced errors.
Bit of a hold up in play as the umpire can’t get the score right. Then he has the wrong player serving. Ironic cheers come from the crowd. The players split the first four points.
22.15 IST: Marin 21 - 17 Sindhu
Sindhu wins her fourth straight point when Marin pushes the shuttle wide. A poor drop shot hands Marin the advantage again at a crucial stage. Sindhu ends up fighting off the first game point but a Marin smash to Sindhu’s backhand hands the Spanish player the game.
22.15 IST: Marin 18 - 13 Sindhu
A lovely cross-court backhand from Marin completely fools Sindhu, who was expecting the shuttle down the line. Marin extends her lead to seven points. But she mishits a simple cross-court forehand to give Sindhu only her second point since the break.
Sindhu capitalises with some sharp shot-making to narrow the gap to four points.
22.12 IST: Marin 16 - 11 Sindhu
Marin has come out faster out the break. She won the first three points as a few errors crept back into Sindhu’s game. A delicate cross-court drop short gave Marin a five-point lead. Sindhu responds with a lovely cross-court smash that a diving Marin can’t reach.
Some lovely defensive work allows Marin to restore her five-point lead.
22.08 IST: Marin 11 - 10 Sindhu
An error on the serve gives Sindhu back the lead. Most of the points have been short so far. Marin also had a tough three-game win in the quarters so both players will prefer short points.
Neither player able to build a lead at the moment. Nip and tuck right now as they reach the mid-point of the first game.
22.05 IST: Marin 8 - 8 Sindhu
Sindhu has won five straight points to lead for the first time at 7-6. Then six in a row. She did this in her quarter-final win over Shixian Wang as well. Would reel off points in bunches.
A lovely cross-court drop from the left-handed Marin ends Sindhu’s run of points at six.
The screams keep coming too. This is a high volume match.
22.02 IST: Marin 6 - 6 Sindhu
Errors keep coming from Sindhu. She seems a touch nervous. An excellent backhanded return draws the error from Marin though. A cross-court winner draws a yell from Sindhu too. ‘Come on,” she shouts. She is fired up for this one.
Sindhu wins four straight points to level the score.
22.00 IST: Marin leads 3-1
Marin has jumped out to an early lead. She won the opening point after a sharp exchange. An error from Sindhu, who smashed into the net, gave Marin the second as well. Sindhu recovered smartly with a smash winner to get on the board but another error gives the Spaniard the best of the early going.
Marin is also screaming loudly after every point she wins. It is more like tennis than badminton.
21.55 IST
The players are now out on court. This is Sindhu's second consecutive semi-final in the women's single. Marin is ranked 9th, two places above Sindhu. The players are warming up and it won't be long before we have some live action for you. Marin will serve first.
21.45 IST
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the World Badminton Championship semi-final between India's PV Sindhu and Spain's Carolina Marin. Their match is up next.
The head-to-head record between the two is 1-1 but that is slightly misleading. The first time they played was back in 2011, when Sindhu won in three games. However, Marin beat Sindhu 21-17, 21-17 when they faced off in Australia in June earlier this year, so she will be fancying her chances.
PV Sindhu. AFP
That said, this is an excellent chance for Sindhu to make the final, where World No. 1 Li Xuerui awaits. Sindhu has found a way to dig out wins in her last two games, upping her level of play when the pressure is highest. The downside is Sindhu has spent a lot of energy out on the court and another match that goes three games could test her fitness.
Sindhu is not the only player seeking to make history. Marin would be the first female Spanish player to reach the World Badminton Championship final.
Recap
Leading Indian shuttler P.V. Sindhu created history Friday by reaching the women's singles semi-finals and assuring herself of at least a bronze medal finish at the World Championships here.
By achieving the feat, the 19-year-old Hyderabadi was in line to become the first Indian to win two medals at the sport's most prestigious event having won the bronze last year at Guangzhou in China.
The 11th seeded Hyderabadi proved that she belongs right at the top of the sport by defeating Chinese World No.2 Shixian Wang 19-21, 21-19, 21-15 in a marathon match which lasted an hour and 25 minutes at the 9,200-seater stadium.
This is World No.12 Sindhu's fourth victory over second seeded Shixian in six meetings.
You can read the full recap here.
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