Guangzhou, Dec 16 (UNI) Rio Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu won the BWF World Tour Finals in the women’s singles category here on Sunday, becoming the first Indian to win a BWF season-ending title.

She defeated Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 21-19, 21-17 in 62 minutes. Now, Sindhu leads Okuhara 7-6 in their head-to-head record.
The sixth-ranked Sindhu kept herself ahead of her Japanese opponent in a nail-biting summit clash, securing first title of this year. Her last win came in Korea Open in September 2017.
Nozomi Okuhara often threatened Sindhu and tried to engage in longer rallies as she always does, but this time the Indian was up for everything and seemed to be taking her challenges with ease.
In the first game, Sindhu had three game points, but Okhuhara refused to surrender, saving two points.
However, Sindhu showed nerves of steel, converting the last game point and winning the game 21-19.
The Rio Olympic silver medallist took early lead as she went into the break with an 11-6 lead. At one point, the Indian was leading the game 14-9, but her Japanese opponent staged a brilliant come back to level the scoreline 16-16. Then, Sindhu overcame and won the game in just 29 minutes.
In the second game too, Sindhu took early lead of 5-2. Then Okuhara came right back with her hitting prowess, compelling Sindhu to make errors and levelled it at 7-7.
However, Sindhu kept showing her never-say-die attitude and took an 11-9 lead at break time. The 23-year-old kept herself in the lead after the break even though the Japanese consistently threatened to level it again.
Okhuhara posed a threat to Sindhu, but she kept calm and composed.
She stuck to her plan and did not show even an inch of impatience. Okhuhara tried her best to pin down Sindhu, but the 23-yaer-old eventually emerged victorious.
With this win, she completed her 300th win in her career. This is Sindhu's 14th career title.
In the group stage, Sindhu overcame Tai Tzu Ying, to end a seven-match losing streak against the Taiwanese world number one. In semifinal, Rio Olympic silver medallist overcame Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon.
The 23-year-old Indian ace shutller had lost five finals through the year, including the World Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.
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