Jakarta: Indian badminton ace PV Sindhu sailed into the semi-finals of the 2019 Indonesia Open after thumping her arch rival Nozomi Okuhara in straight games in the women's singles quarterfinals played in Jakarta.


Sindhu was in prime form right from the very start of the high octane quarterfinals and dominated her Japanese rival with some attacking strokes.

Sindhu looked must quicker and sharper on the court than her Japanese opponent and even won most of the long rallied.

The Rio Olympics Silver medalist had no trouble in wrapping up the first game 21-14. With the first game in her bag  , Sindhu was in all conquering mode in the second game as well, making short work of her the Japanese and winning the game 21-7 and winning the quarterfinal encounter.

Sindhu prevailed supreme in the 15th encounter between the two on the tour and now leads the head to head 8-7.

Sindhu and Okuhara have clashed several times in the past at major events, the most notable of them being the finals of the BWF World Championships in 2017. Okuhara edged past Sindhu in what is hailed as one of the best ever finals at the showpiece event.

Sindhu, seeded fifth, had to play out of her skin to overcome a stiff challenge from unseeded Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark 21-14 17-21 21-11 in a second-round encounter.

Sindhu remains the lone Indian survivor in the competition after Kidambi Srikanth’s exit.