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Kidambi Srikanth left gallantly. Saina Nehwal hobbled off hurting. The doubles teams of Jwala Gutta & Ashwini Ponappa and Manu Attri & Sumeeth Reddy exited without creating as much as a ripple.Pusarla V Sindhu is the last among them standing. Seven badminton players arrived in Rio, Indias largest ever contingent and only one among them can now return with a medal. On Thursday, Sindhu fronts up against Japans Nozomi Okuhara for a place in the gold medal match in the womens singles. Okuhara sits four places above Sindhu in the world rankings at number six and will present a huge stumbling block to Sindhus aspirations of securing a medal.The Japanese player has been one of the standout performers on the circuit in recent months. She won the season ending World Super series finals in Dubai last December without losing a single game in five matches. This year she has a win-loss record of 21-8, also capturing the All-England open in March, one of the most prestigious tournaments on the circuit. Though she hasnt won a tournament since, at Rio, Okuhara has rediscovered her spark. She won her first three matches comfortably in straight games before being stretched to three by compatriot Yamaguchi Akane in the quarterfinals.Okuhara also holds a 3-1 edge over Sindhu in their head-to-head encounters, although interestingly each of their four matches have been three-game affairs. Sindhu won the first match in 2012 at the Badminton Youth Asia under-19 championships but Okuhara has clinched the last three, including one earlier this year in Sindhus hometown Hyderabad at the Badminton Asia Team championships.For Sindhus coach Pullela Gopichand though, those numbers will have little bearing on the outcome of this contest, with Sindhu playing some of the best badminton of her life over the past week.Sindhu needs to be aggressive and attacking, just the way she has been in the last two matches, says Gopichand. I dont think we need to go by past results, this is a new competition and she is in a positive frame of mind. The Japanese girl likes to engage in long rallies, so we will have to be prepared for that.One of the key factors in the match could be the significant difference in height between the players. Okuhara is a lot shorter at barely 51 whereas Sindhu, at 510 is among the tallest players on the circuit.In the course of this tournament, Sindhu has used her wingspan to great advantage, combining her assured movements with the ability to retrieve shuttles using her reach. However, Sindhu believes that while being taller than her opponents can be an advantage, it can also be an area where she can be targeted.Height is an advantage and a disadvantage, she told ESPN before leaving for the Olympics. It helps you catch up with the shuttle quicker. On the other hand, players have read my game so they dont give me much to attack, since my reach is very good. So they make me play more downward strokes.Over her short career, Sindhu has been dogged by inconsistency, evidenced by her failure to have won a single Super series title yet. However, she does appear to have a penchant for putting together strong runs at big tournaments.She won bronze medals at two consecutive World championships and remains the only Indian to have done so. After a patchy year on the circuit, she has produced a captivating run in Rio, with victories over two higher ranked players in world number two Wang Yihan of China and world number eight?Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan.She has performed well in big events, and shes performed well when shes had time to prepare well, explains Gopichand. She has been inconsistent a few times and squandered leads but I think thats a part of being so young. She has time and age on her side but she is a great fighter and has a great work ethic.Sindhu described the victory against Yihan as?one of the best moments?of her career adding that she hopes there are many more to come. 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LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Jerseys For Sale .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. THEY SAID IT: It was a bit poor to run all that way to have a go at me. If my players sledged the opposition coach I would be disappointed. Thats a lack of respect. - Brisbane coach John Aloisi voices his displeasure after Melbourne City goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis ran from his goal to Roars bench to deliver an exuberant celebration after teammate Nicolas Colazo scored the opener.STAT THAT MATTERS: Melbourne Victory fired 21 shots to Perths three and held 66 per cent of possession at AAMI Park on Friday night, yet they could only draw 1-1 with the Glory.MAN OF THE ROUND: Adelaide can thank Henrique - or rather, his two screamers - for their first win of the season. The Brazilian opened scoring against the Phoenix with a thundering left-footer, before topping that feat within a quarter-hour with a 20m bullet to seal a 2-00 win.dddddddddddd Honourary mention to Sydney FCs Milos Ninkovic and Berni Ibini for their superb solo goals against Newcastle.CONTROVERSY CORNER: The war of words between Melbourne City coach John van t Schip and his Brisbane counterpart John Aloisi exploded again after Saturdays 1-1 draw, when van t Schip accused Roar defender Jade North of diving and feigning injury in an attempt to get City captain Bruno Fornaroli sent off.UNDER PRESSURE: The Reds, courtesy of their breakthrough victory, have left the Phoenix at the foot of the table and Ernie Merrick surely wondering how to mend their faltering season. At the very least, three of their next four opponents are also in the bottom four. ' ' '