(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) PV Sindhu refused to get carried away despite delivering a flawless performance on Thursday to book her place in the semifinals of the Dubai World Superseries Finals at the Shaikh Hamdan Sports Complex.
Japan's Sayaka Sato was put to the sword by the Indian star who was in terrific form in her second Group A game. The 2016 Dubai semifinalist took just 36 minutes to beat Sato 21-13, 21-12.
Sindhu, who was pushed to the limit in her first match by Chinese youngster He Bingjiao, said her next goal was to give world number two Akane Yamaguchi a run for her money in her last group stage game on Friday.
Yamaguchi also booked her semifinal spot with a 21-14, 13-12, 21-8 win over Bingjiao on Thursday.
But the top spot will be at stake when Sindhu faces her in their Group A finale.
"Yes, this will be my second straight semifinal and I am happy. But it's never over. Tomorrow (Friday) I will play against Yamaguchi so it's not going to be easy. I have to recover well after this match and come back tomorrow and play a good game. It's not over. I need to keep going," Sindhu, the Rio Olympics silver medallist, told reporters after her victory.
After Kidambi Srikanth was knocked out of the semifinal race with his second straight defeat on Friday, India's hopes in the prestigious season-ending finale will rest on the 22-year-old Sindhu.
"Well, I have to win tomorrow as well. I know Srikanth lost today. He was playing well. But never mind tomorrow I have another match. Hopefully I will do well."
Srikanth, who had lost his first match to world number one Viktor Axelsen, suffered a straight-sets defeat (18-21, 18-21) against Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan.
"I played better overall than yesterday. But I should have won the second game. I made too many mistakes. You can't afford to do that. I should have taken the set. I was leading 17-14," a dejected Srikanth said after his defeat.
Srikanth came into the Dubai championships in magnificent form, winning four Superseries titles this year. But the season-ending championships where only the world's top eight players earn the right to play, turned out to be an inauspicious affair for the 24-year-old player from Hyderabad.
"I should have done much better in Dubai after a wonderful season that I had. But the break I took after the injury played a part maybe," he said referring to his thigh muscle strain.
"I lost a bit of momentum in terms of match fitness. But these things are not in your hands. Now I want to do better and finish the tournament with a win tomorrow.
"Also this is a very tough tournament. You have to be at your 100 per cent from the very first match against these top players. You can't afford to make too many mistakes in a tournament like this."
Chou, on the other hand, will be up against 'a very good friend' in a do-or-die clash on Friday for a semifinal spot.
"I am happy to play against Viktor (Axelsen). We are very good friends. Hopefully we will have a great match tomorrow," he said.
Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon, meanwhile, won her second straight game in women's singles Group B to book her semifinal spot. Intanon defeated Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan 21-18, 21-17 in what was a pretty straightforward game.
RESULTS
Men's singles
Group A
NG Ka Long Angus (Hong Kong) beat Son Wan Ho (South Korea) 21-15, 13-21, 21-16
Group B
Shi Yuqi (China) beat Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) 13-21, 21-18, 21-18; Chou Tien Chen (Taiwan) beat Kidambi Srikanth (India) 21-18, 21-18
Women's singles
Group A
Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) beat He Bingjiao (China) 21-14, 13-21, 21-8; PV Sindhu (India) beat Sayaka Sato (Japan) 21-13, 21-12.
Group B
Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand) beat Tai Tzu Ying (Taiwan) 21-18, 21-17; Chen Yufei (China) beat Sung Ji Hyun (South Korea) 21-16, 21-13
Mixed doubles
Group A
Tang Chun Man (Hong Kong)/Tse Zing Suet (Hong Kong) beat Kenta Kazuno (Japan)/Ayane Kurihara (Japan) 21-16, 16-21, 21-6; Praveen Jordan (Indonesia)/Debby Susanto (Indonesia) Zheng Siwei (China)/Chen Qingchen (China).
Group B
Wang Yilyu (China)/Huang Dongping (China) beat Chris Adcock (England)/Gabrielle Adcock (England) 21-14, 21-17; Tontowi Ahmad (Indonesia)/Liliyana Natsir (Indonesia) beat Tan Kian Meng (Malaysia)/Lai Pei Jing (Malaysia) 21-17, 21-19.
Men's doubles
Group A
Takeshi Kamura (Japan)/Keigo Sonoda (Japan) beat Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (Indonesia)/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Indonesia) 21-17 21-17; Mads Conrad-Petersen (Denmark)/Mads Pieler Kolding (Denmark) beat Li Junhui (China)/Liu Yuchen (China) 21-14, 21-13.
Group B
Liu Cheng (China)/Zhang Nan (China) beat Takuro Hoki (Japan)/Yugo Kobayashi (Japan) 21-18, 21-15; Mathias Boe (Denmark)/Carsten Mogensen (Denmark) beat Lee Jhe-Huei (Taiwan)/Lee Yang (Taiwan) 21-14 21-19.
Women's doubles
Group A
Shiko Tanaka (Japan)/Koharu Yonemoto (Japan) beat Huang Yaqiong (China)/Yu Xiaohan (China) 21-16 21-16; Chen Qingchen (China)/Jia Yifan (China) beat Chang Ye Na (South Korea)/Lee So Hee (South Korea) 21-17, 21-17.
Group B
Yuki Fukushima (Japan)/Sayaka Hirota (Japan) beat Jung Kyung Eun (South Korea)/Shin Seung Chan (South Korea) 21-18, 21-13; Kamila Rytter Jhul (Denmark)/Christinna Pedersen (Denmark) beat Hsu Ya Ching (Taiwan)/Wu Ti Jung (Taiwan) 20-22, 21-13, 21-17.
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