Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu (below) took a giant stride towards securing a title at the Malaysia Masters after progressing to the semi-finals with a hard-fought win over top seed Han Yue of China here on Friday.

World No. 15 Sindhu outwit Han, ranked sixth, 21-13, 14-21, 21-12 in a 55-minute quarter-final battle to avenge her loss to the Chinese in their last meeting at the Asia badminton Championships in Ningbo last month. Meanwhile, Ashmita Chaliha’s fine run ended in the quarter-finals with a 10-21, 15-21 loss to sixth seed Zhang Yi Man of China.