Basel, Aug 23 P.V. Sindhu stunned World No. 2 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei 12-21, 23-21, 21-19 to storm into the semi-finals of the BWF World Championships in a rip-roaring quarter-final clash on Friday.
The ace Indian shuttler came back from losing the first game in 15 minutes to clinch the second one 23-21 in thrilling fashion and then wrest advantage from her old nemesis to win 21-19 and make it two wins in a row against the same opponent.
Sindhu's bid for a third straight final at BWF World Championships is thus alive.
Tai Tzu has a superior record against her, but Sindhu won in their last meeting in 2018.
Tai Tzu, who last year claimed the nation's first-ever badminton gold at the Asian Games, opened up a 7-point lead and from then on peppered the Olympic silver medallist with back-to-back smashes.
A brilliant rally saw the Taiwanese maintain her dominance and win the first game 21-12 as Sindhu had no answer to her returns.
The Indian started strongly in the second game, winning her first point with a strong smash.
Tai Tzu fought back to take a 5-3 lead before Sindhu levelled the score at 8-8 and took a 11-9 advantage at the break.
The rallies were long and Sindhu even fell to the floor while attempting to return a sharp Tai Tzu shot.
It was a see-saw battle after the breather as both Sindhu and Tai Tzu refused to budge. It was even at 21-21 before Sindhu showed composure and skill to win it 23-21 and stay afloat.
In the decider, Tai Tzu opened up a 5-2 lead before Sindhu fought back to go into the break trailing 9-11. It was exhilariting badminton from there on as Sindhu, in typical fashion, took the lead from 15-15 to win 21-19.
( With inputs from IANS )