It was well after 10 PM by the time PV Sindhu stepped onto the court at New Delhi's Siri Fort Stadium on Saturday. It's understandable why organisers had scheduled her women's singles semifinals against Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon as the last match of the day at the India Open Super 500. That the spectators did stick around - as the organisers might have hoped - is due to Sindhu's status as the pre-eminent badminton player in the country at the moment. She didn't disappoint them, recording a comprehensive 21-13, 21-15 win in 48 minutes, to come within one win of defending the title she won last year.
It would be fair to say Indian fans haven't had much to look forward to this season. At the time of her match, the Olympic silver medalist was the last Indian left in the competition, after the mixed doubles pair of Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Chopra had been beaten two matches earlier. At least the duo had reached the weekend. After a record-breaking 2017, the Indian men's singles challenge had petered out in the quarterfinals. Saina Nehwal, for long the standard bearer of Indian badminton, had been unceremoniously ousted at the same stage against American journeywoman Beiwen Zhang.
"It's a good feeling to get back to the final. I hope I can defend my title." Sindhu
There might have been a few jitters before Sindhu's match against Ratchanok, too. Sindhu hasn't had the best start to her season, losing in the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Masters in January to compatriot Nehwal. Ratchanok, on the other hand, had a great start to the year, beating World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying to claim the Malaysia Masters and then reaching the semifinals in Indonesia, a run that saw her bounce Sindhu from her No. 3 spot in the world rankings. To add to that, there was the weight of history. Prior to their encounter on Saturday, the Thai had a 4-2 record against Sindhu. Ratchanok had triumphed 21-12, 21-6 the last time the two had played in this tournament.
But that was five years ago, when Sindhu had been overawed by Ratchanok's deceptive flicks. It's the Indian who intimidates opponents now. On Saturday, Sindhu didn't give her opponent even a whiff of a chance, and it was Ratchanok who was out of ideas, throwing her head to her side and cracking a wistful grin on each of the many occasions Sindhu powered a smash past her.
The Indian didn't let Ratchanok get into any rhythm, applying pressure with pace and accurate shot placement. "It was not easy. She wasn't giving me any easy endings. I was having to create and make it happen. It might have got over in two sets but it was an intense match," said Sindhu.
Whenever the former world champion attempted to create some space by hitting a high clear, Sindhu targeted her backhand with thunderbolts, which Ratchanok wasn't able to consistently return. More often than not, she netted her response or lifted the clear to the mid-court, where Sindhu delivered the coup de grace.
Although Ratchanok had better luck in the second game, Sindhu was more than up to the task. Even when Ratchanok seemed to have the upper hand, it was nearly impossible for her to finish the point. Trailing 14-17, the Thai had the chance to reduce the deficit. She put together a near-perfect rally before seemingly killing the point with a smash to Sindhu's backhand corner, but Sindhu then pulled off a magnificent diving retrieve, which a stunned Ratchanok could only bury into the net.
For Sindhu, it was a near-flawless performance. She read Ratchanok perfectly, but, more importantly, she rarely gave loose points, forcing her opponent into ever sharper angles and, eventually, errors. That consistency was something she took pride in. "I wasn't making any mistakes. Even though in the second game, I made a couple of mistakes there weren't too many overall. That was pretty good," she says.
After clearing what was expected to be her toughest test with ease, Sindhu now faces Zhang, by any account a surprise finalist. The two have played each other four times in international competition, with Sindhu winning three of those matches. They played once in this season's Premier Badminton League (PBL) too, with Sindhu winning again. However, each of those matches were hard-fought encounters, all of them going to a third game. Sindhu expects more of the same on Sunday. "It's going to be a tough match. I expect to be playing a lot of rallies," Sindhu predicted.
The Indian, though, must be considered the favourite. "It's a good feeling to get back to the finals. I hope I can defend my title," she says.
For the fans who can expect another late match, that result would be entirely worth it.