India's PV Sindhu beat Carolina Marin 21-17, 21-13 to reach the semi-finals of the Dubai World Superseries finals on Friday. She will next play South Korea's Sung Ji-hyun, against whom she has a superior head-to-head record.
In what was the last match of the group stages, Sindhu had to beat Marin to go through. In the end, Sindhu won in straight games and came second in Group B. The group was topped by China's Sun Yu.
The match started at a fast pace with neither player giving the other many chances. Marin had a 10-8 lead before unforced errors and smart play from Sindhu saw her fall 10-11 behind. Sindhu eventually won the game 21-17.
At the break Marin was treated for a small cut on her foot. The momentum remained with Sindhu after the second game began. She led 10-6 and then 17-10, leaving Olympic gold medallist Marin staring at her third straight defeat of the tournament. Sindhu took the second game 21-13 to book a place in the last four.
This was Sindhu's first match against Marin since their epic final at the Rio Olympics. It turned out to be Sindhu's third win over the world number two in eight attempts.