PV Sindhu had not reached the final of a BWF World Tour event for over a year and was playing her first semifinal in seven months; four of which she was out recovering from injury, one more recently to train with the Olympics on her mind.
Between her and a place in the final stood a very familiar opponent, Busanan Ongbamrungphan, whom she had beaten 17 times for just one loss. The Indian was coming off a confidence-boosting win over the top seed Han Yue of China.
The stage was set for Sindhu, who has struggled with form and fitness for a while now, to mark her comeback with her first BWF final since March 2023. She did reach there in the end, but needed a longer, marathon-like route, to reach the final of the Malaysia Masters Super 500. It was an 88-minute long semifinal, a good test of her current level while also showing how her ceiling has been rising since the slow comeback from injury in early 2023.
Despite the overwhelming head-to-head record, it was Sindhu who started on the back foot, going down 13-21 to her Thai opponent in the first game. She was repeatedly caught short by her strokes and was not able to string a bunch of points together to build momentum. She was forced to all corners of the court and could not take charge of the points.
In the quarterfinal, Sindhu had imposed her physicality to dominate the first and third games against the Chinese top seed, bookending a strange dip in the second.
The second game of the semifinal, though, became a matter of survival after Busanan practically ran away with the first one after a tense start. Sindhu was more cautious at the start, ensuring she stayed in points and not getting too aggressive and letting points end on Busanan's terms. It was a shift in the game plan that seemed to work. After a slight lead at the interval, Sindhu's intent increased even as Busanan's momentum started to fade away and the Indian set up a decider soon.
The third game showed just how well Sindhu's training block - for which she missed the Uber Cup in April-May - has worked as she stayed fresh and had the fire in her legs despite a third straight day of playing a decider. She raced to an 11-5 at the interval and forced the Thai into errors with her arsenal of smashes and drops.
It took 88 minutes - a long match by most standards - but she was back in the final with a chance of her first BWF trophy since the Singapore Open in July 2022; before the fateful injury that would hamper her later that year.
Before the semis, Sindhu had said that she was at 100 per cent mentally and physically, something that has not always been the case since her comeback, going back to early last year. "I've got a good training block as well. Now it's time to get that confidence back," she told BWF. "I'm getting there but there's still a lot more inside. I need to get all of that out."
Confidence will be key here. In the recent past since her surgery, Sindhu has struggled with her mindset when she has not been able to get over the line in close games against top players. For a player with such elite physicality, it must be hard to fall short in moments she could control earlier. But she seems to be aware of where she stands and with every passing month, she is getting stronger. Her progress from her return to competition in February to now is there to see, with her maintaining a good level even after three straight matches on the hour mark.
Now is a crucial period for Sindhu - two months before the Paris Olympics where she is looking for a third straight medal - something that has not been done before by an Indian. A trophy here will validate all the hard work she has been doing while boosting her ranking which at world No 15, means she has tough draws from the start.
In the final, she faces second seed and world no. 7 Wang Zhi Yi of China. Interestingly, she had beaten Wang for her last BWF title as well and leads her 2-1. If Sindhu can stay calm and keep her strokes armed and legs blazing like she did in the last two matches, there is good reason to believe her BWF title drought can end on Sunday.