The Indian women’s badminton team on Saturday reached the final of the Badminton Asia Championships for the first time in the history of the competition, defeating Japan 3-2 in a thrilling semifinal.
With this victory, India also secured themselves a medal finish in the event. They’ll face Thailand in the final.
The star shuttler PV Sindhu seized the lead, facing off against Japan’s Aya Ohori. The Indian ace fought valiantly but finally lost against Ohori, who defeated Sindhu in two straight sets of 21-17, 22-20 to earn Japan’s first point.
With India behind 0-1, the onus was on Treesa-Gayathri to assist them claw their way back into the tie. Battling against the Japanese pair of Matsuyama-Shida, the Indians went all the way, bringing the game to three gruelling sets before grabbing the win in a nail-biter that finished 21-17, 16-21, 22-20 to bring India back level at 1-1.
