Rio silver medallist PV Sindhu capped her return to form by winning the China Open on Sunday. She beat Sun Yu of China 21-11, 17-21, 21-11 in the final for her first Super Series title win.
Sindhu was quick off the blocks, unsettling Sun with her attacking game and racing to an 11-5 lead at the first break. Sun was caught unaware as Sindhu's swift movement and solid defence helped her retrieve everything and win the game with ease in 17 minutes.
Sindhu continued to impress in the second game as Sun was forced to target the sidelines of the court due to the Indian's mobility. The Chinese player made a lot of errors as Sindhu led 11-7 at the changeover.
But then Sun made a strong comeback. She changed her strategy by targeting Sindhu with a series of fierce body smashes that the Indian could not return. Though the players were 16-16 at one stage, it was the Chinese who pulled away and won the game.
In the deciding game, Sindhu led 11-8 at the changeover. The momentum stayed with her from there on and she won the game comfortably in 23 minutes.
"It has been a dream for a long time to win a Superseries," Sindhu said later. "After the Olympics, everyone was asking me, 'What's next?' It was important for me to get a Superseries title. Life changed a lot after the Olympics. People thought I'll take a long time to get back. But I worked hard. This is my first Superseries title and I'm very happy."
About the match, she said: "The first game was very easy. I [was] playing her after two-and-a half years, she's also tall like me and we're both attacking players. I lost the second game and in the third I started well and from 11-7, I maintained the lead."
Sindhu, the seventh seed, had beaten sixth seed Sung Ji Hyun of South Korea 11-21, 23-21, 21-19 in the semi-final.
"It was such a tough match, one of my best wins," Sindhu said about that match. "There were such long rallies. I was so far down in the second, but I could come back. I thought, 'Let me just play and see.' I had made so many errors. There were so many rallies, each point was a rally. She didn't leave anything. I wasn't tired. Even though we played long rallies, we had breaks in between. Neither of us was leaving the shuttle. My jump smashes worked in the end."
This is Sindhu's third tournament since her silver medal finish at the Rio Olympics. She had lost in the second round at the Denmark Open and French Open.
Sindhu is the third Indian to win the tournament. Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth had won the women's and men's singles title respectively in 2014. Sindhu is also only the third non-Chinese player to win the women's singles event in 30 years.
This was Sindhu's second appearance in a Superseries final. She had lost to China's Li Xuerui in the finals of the Denmark Open last year. For Sun Yu, it was her fourth consecutive loss in the final of a Superseries event this year.