Sindhu wins Macau Open title (Roundup)

Indian shuttler P.V. Sindhu won the women's singles title at the $120,000 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold defeating Canada's seventh seed Li Michelle in the final here Sunday.

The World No.11 won 21-15, 21-12 in 37 minutes in their first ever encounter at the Macau Forum to clinch her second Grand Prix Gold title. Sindhu had also won the Malaysia Open in May.

The Hyderabadi led the first game right from the start, bagging the first seven points in no time. Though Li tried closing down the gap (9-6), the World Championship bronze medallist proved too good for her World No.30 opponent and raced away to win the first game in 16 minutes.

Sindhu used her height to advantage, notching up more winners at the net than her opponent while several other points came as the she forced the Chinese to commit errors.

The second game was a neck-and-neck battle till 6-all, but from there the Indian won eight straight points to take a huge advantage. Li tried fighting back but it proved a little too late as Sindhu sealed the game and match on her first championship point to take home a cheque of $9,000.

"I was confident going into the final after I defeated the Chinese player and knew that if I did not make mistakes, I can win the title," Sindhu said, adding that she was extremely happy to end the year on a high.

Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand said they had pulled Sindhu out of the China Open to put in a month-long training regimen and the plan worked out well.

"We worked extensively on speed and aggression at the academy during the preparation for the tournament and she executed it well in Macau," he said.

Madhumita Bisht, who is accompanying the Indian contingent in Macau, said: "Sindhu was a bit nervous in the earlier rounds but the way she played in the semifinal and the final, she thoroughly deserved the crown."

It has been a steady rise for Sindhu this year as she achieved quite a few firsts.

Apart from winning her first Tier-III title in Malaysia, she also entered the top-10 of world rankings in August. To add to that, the Arjuna Awardee also won India's first ever women's singles medal at the World Championships by taking a bronze in August.