Strains of "Happy Birthday” broke out in the Singapore Indoor Stadium stands on Tuesday, but the recipient women’s singles world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi felt only relief after prevailing in her firstround match at the Singapore Badminton Open.
In a blockbuster worthy of a final, her biggest present was a victory over an old foe and defending champion, India’s world No. 13 P. V. Sindhu, whom she beat 18-21, 21-19, 21:17 after 61 minutes.
Yamaguchi said: Among all the players, Sindhu is the one I have more losses (14) than wins (10) against, so it feels good to go against the odds and secure this win, especially on my 26th) birthday.
“There won’t be any wild celebrations because I’m still playing in the tournament, but I have many messages from my family, friends, and fans to go through and reply.”
In Thursday’s round of 16, the two-time world champion will face Canada’s Michelle Li, who beat Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland 21-1, 21-15.
Despite the 179m Sindhu’s height and reach advantage, the 1.56m Japanese made up for her shortcomings by combining deft strokes and rapid footwork to cover the court, and retrieve and repel Sindhu’s attacks, particularly in the second game, recovering from 12-14 down to level the match.
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