Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu overcame a strong challenge from her Chinese rival Han Yue in a battle lasting more than an hour to book her semifinal berth in the Singapore Open Super 500 Tournament here on Friday. The World No. 7 found the going tough early in the first game as Han was clinical with her placement and drew the first blood, but the Indian bounced back strongly to win the second and seal the issue 17-21 21-11 21-19 in a contest lasting 62 minutes. Sindhu now leads 3-0 against the Chinese on head-to-head.

This was Sindhu's first semifinal entry since the Thailand Open in May and it remains to be seen if she is able to make it all the way in their last event before the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Sindhu will next face unseeded Saena Kawakami, the Japanese world No. 38 who caused an upset by eliminating sixth seeded Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand 21-17 21-19.