Who is Tai Tzu-ying: The shuttler who PV Sindhu will face in the semifinals of Tokyo 2020?
The Chinese Taipei athlete has given a torrid time to Sindhu in recent times
PV Sindhu has taken a giant stride towards her second Olympic medal after beating fourth seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-13, 22-20 in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics badminton women’s singles event.
The Indian was almost flawless in the first game and took an early lead in the second. At one stage it was 14-8 in favour of Sindhu, but Yamaguchi made a strong comeback into the match and had two game points to convert.
However, Sindhu pulled up her socks as she saved two match points with powerful smashes and set up a match point for herself with a third one down the line.
She is yet to drop a game and will next face Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei in the semifinals against whom she has struggled in recent times.
Who is PV Sindhu's opponent Tai Tzu-ying?
The 27-year-old hails from Taiwan and made his professional debut in 2009 in the Vietnam Grand Prix. She has been playing badminton since she was in kindergarten and started professional training when she was in grade three. Her parents used to play badminton in leisure and hence she started liking the sport.
She is the current World No.1 and has been seeded second in the ongoing Olympics. She has an incredible record against top-ranked players including top seed Chen Yufei (15-3).
She has one Asian Games gold, two Asian Championship gold, three All England Titles, and five BWF World Superseries titles. However, she is yet to win a World Championship or an Olympic medal.
In the quarterfinals, Tai beat Ratchanok Intanon, who was the fifth seed and one of the medal contenders, in a hard fought three-game battle 14-21, 21-18, 21-18.
What is PV Sindhu's record against Tai Tzu-ying?
Sindhu has faced the shuttler 18 times in her career and has managed to win only on five occasions. In fact, she has lost the last three matches against her, including one in 2021 in Thailand in the BWF World Tour Finals. The Indian last won against her in 2019 in the World Championship final.
Sindhu also emerged triumphant against her in the Rio 2016 Olympics in straight games 21-13, 21-15.