Top Chinese shuttlers praise Sindhu

Top Chinese shuttlers have praised India's P.V. Sindhu, who reached the women's singles semifinals to win the bronze medal at the World Championships here.

The 18-year-old Indian has defeated the Olympic, the World and Asian Games champion (all from China), the latter two coming at the ongoing Worlds in the last one year, a remarkable feat which has only been achieved by her compatriot Saina Nehwal.

Sindhu ousted defending World Champion Yihan Wang Thursday that left the Chinese impressed.

"I played with Sindhu in this year's Sudirman Cup and she forced me to a decider. She performed very well at the Worlds while I did not perform badly. I had a chance to win but I just could not come through at crucial points and let chances slip away," Yihan was quoted as saying by leading badminton website, badzine.net.

"Sindhu has speed, height and reach so she is able to cover the whole court quickly. Sometimes I thought I had already forced her to a defensive situation but she was always able to hit the shuttle back," added the 2012 London Olympics silver medallist.

"The Indian women's singles players are quite young and on the rise. They are in a position to challenge us. These youngsters have gained experience from national events by playing with experienced players and have progressed day by day," said the former World No.1.

The 2010 Asian Games gold medallist Shixian Wang, who lost to the Hyderabadi in the quarterfinals Friday, said playing against Sindhu was a difficult task.

"Sindhu has been playing well for a while now. It isn't as if she is just suddenly beating Chinese players. My coaches and I did a lot of research on her as preparation. She has long legs and arms and that makes her difficult to deal," said Shixian, who is also a 2010 World Championship bronze medallist.