PV Sindhu ensured India will collect at least one more medal at the Rio Games.
PV Sindhu ensured India will collect at least one more medal at the Rio Games.

RIO DE JANEIRO (Diya TV) — India women’s badminton player PV Sindhu made history Wednesday at the Rio Games, ensuring her country will walk away from the tournament with at least one more Olympic medal after she defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-19, 21-10 to advance to the final.

Using her height and unmatched serving power, Sindhu quickly jumped out to a 3-1 lead during the first game. Okuhara’s strongest efforts to stay in the matched were bested as Sindhu maintained her advantage, a pair of unforced errors reduced her margin to 15-13, however, her unparalleled dedication and discipline saw the first game end a score of 21-19.

The beginning of the second game was nearly a carbon copy of the first —Okuhara managed to pull the score level at 9-9 after Sindhu raced out to another early lead. With the score tied, Okuhara committed a series of errors, and fueled by her poor net judgement, Sindhu seized victory with an 11-point rally. She won the second game 21-11.

Speaking after the match, Sindhu said she’s focused on only one thing: Gold.

“‘I didn’t take it easy at any point. I feel she played a good game, there were many rallies. The final will be my biggest match. Marin is a tough opponent and I will give my best.”

Five-time Olympian Abhinav Bindra watched the game closely, and made a request to Sindhu after her victory via Twitter.

Bindra remains the only Indian athlete to have ever won an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games.

With her victory, Sindhu became the first Indian female badminton player to enter the final of a ladies singles event in the Olympics. She will square off against Spain’s Carolina Marin, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the world.