Olympic silver-medallist P V Sindhu stood a step away from clinching her maiden title at the Dubai Super Series Finals after defeating Chen Yufei of China in straight games in the women's singles semifinals here on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Indian dished out a controlled game of badminton to outclass the Glasgow World Championship bronze medallist Chinese opponent 21-15, 21-18 in a match that lasted a little less than an hour.
World No 3 Sindhu thus emulated Saina Nehwal, who had reached the final in 2011 and mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju, who had ended runners-up in 2009.
"Overall, it was a very good quality match. Though I won in straight games, there were long rallies. It never got over till the last point. I was just thinking about the next point, each point is important. Chen is an upcoming player and she has played exceptionally well. Her defence is solid," Sindhu said after the match.
In the summit clash on Sunday, the World Championship silver medallist Indian will face World No 2 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, who saw off Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon 17-21, 21-12, 21-19 in another semifinal on Saturday.
Sindhu had thrashed Yamaguchi in straight games in her last Group A match yesterday. "I really want to be the first Indian woman to win this tournament. Yamaguchi will be a tough opponent. I will have to be prepared. It will be a long, big match, so not thinking anything now. There will not be easy points," Sindhu said.
Playing an opponent with whom she has a 2-2 head-to-head record this season, Sindhu had to work hard during the rallies to stay a step ahead of the Chinese.
In the first game, Sindhu rode on the unforced errors of Chen to quickly open up a 5-0 lead early on.
Chen found the going tough after the breather as she struggled to control the shuttle to hand Sindhu a 15-11 lead.
Chen then again hit long as Sindhu grabbed five game points. The Indian sealed the game with an overhead return which Chen failed to reach.
After the change of sides, Chen produced some measured smashes but eventually succumbed to the Hyderabadi lass who was superior on the day.