India's star shuttler PV Sindhu won a tough three-set battle to defeat Xiaoyu Liang of Singapore and enter the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open badminton tournament here on Friday.
The Olympic silver medallist faced a tough challenge at the Hong Kong Coliseum before scripting a 21-17, 21-23, 21-18 win.
The encounter between the two lasted for 78 minutes. Sindhu got off to a poor start but she capitalised on the momentum to take the lead. The Rio games silver medallist maintained the gap and closed out the first game by 21-17.
In the second set, Sindhu, ranked world number nine, once again got off to a poor start. Xiayou managed to bag the game by 21-23.
In the third set, Xiayou took six-point lead (9-15) over Sindhu, but the Hyderabad girl made a spectacular comeback buy winning five consecutive points. Sindhu held her nerve brilliantly and close out the game by 21-18.
The 21-year-old could face compatriot Saina Nehwal in the last four stage if Saina wins her quarter-final later in the day.
Sindhu had one of the biggest victories of her career last week when she defeated China’s Sun Yu Hyun to lift Superseries title.
