News, Rio Games: It was the moment for billions of fans back home and the handful in Rio. After three fourth-placed finishes, athletes making to the finals and returning empty handed, Sindhu gave the nation hope. Hope of a medal which has eluded the country for 11 days now.

Here’s a breakdown of how India fared on day 11:

Badminton

Indian shuttler PV Sindhu raised serious hopes of breaking India’s long-awaited medal quest in the Rio Olympics by storming into the semifinals of the women’s singles event with a stunning straight games win over London Games silver medallist World No.02 Wang Yihan of China, here.

The two-time World Championship bronze medallist Sindhu, who came into the match with a 2-4 head-to-head record, dished out a compact game to outmanoeuvre the more experienced Wang 22-20 21-19 in a gruelling battle lasting 54 minutes.

The 21-year-old Indian now stood just a win away from assuring India an elusive medal at the Rio Olympics.

With the memorable win, Sindhu became the second Indian badminton player to reach an Olympic semifinal after Saina Nehwal achieved the feat four years ago.

“Yes, this is one of the most satisfying wins that I have played. I have played Wang Yihan several times and sometimes she plays a different game. This one was one of the best, and I hope it will happen in the next game,” she said.

“I think Sindhu played really well and it was a very spirited performance. From the very beginning both the players really fought like hell. Sindhu had a good lead in the second game but Wang Yihan recovered very well. Yet Sindhu remained calm and became aggressive in the last few points to finish it off,” Gopichand said.

“All in all, I think great game by Sindhu showed a very great good attitude and a performance at a high level,” he added.

Sindhu will face World no six Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the last-four stage. Okuhara defeated compatriot Akane Yamaguchi 11-21, 21-17, 21-10 in a hard-fought all-Japan quarter-final clash which dragged on for one hour and eight minutes.

Watch her brilliant finish here:

YES! YES! YES!
PV Sindhu storms into semi-final against Wing Yihan.
22-20 21-19#badminton #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/sZTb9CE5LO

— DrVatsa (@DocVatsa) August 16, 2016

@Pvsindhu1 main to tera jabra fan ho gaya!! More power to you!! Loved celebration #PVSindhu #Jeetatrio #GoForGold pic.twitter.com/gO51MKgC8o

— Gajanan Gaikwad (@gajanangaikwad) August 17, 2016

Wrestling

Meanwhile, wrestler Hardeep Singh was out of the men’s Greco-Roman 98 kg after losing to Turkey’s Cenk Ildem 1-2 on points.

The first period began with both the wrestlers failing to gain any advantage before the 30-year-old Turk was penalised. But Hardeep did not take the advantage leaving both scoreless. Two minutes into the first period, Hardeep was penalised for a foul and Ildem made the most of it to lead 2-0.

The second period started with a warning to Ildem, which gave the 25-year-old Indian a point. In the last 30 seconds, both wrestlers looked to overcome each other in vain, sealing the deal in favour of the Turkish grappler.

Hardeep’s elimination has brought down the curtains on India’s campaign in the Greco-Roman category after Ravinder Khatri lost to Hungary’s Viktor Lorincz by technical superiority in 85kg on Monday.

In other news, Narsingh Yadav‘s participation in the Rio Olympics was in jeopardy on Tuesday with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealing in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) against the clean chit given to him.

“WADA has appealed against the NADA (National Anti-Doping Agency) clearance in Court of Arbitration (CAS). Now the hearing is on and the IOA Secretary General (Rajeev Mehta) is there with WADA officials,” Indian contingent’s chef-de-mission Rakesh Gupta told PTI.

If CAS upholds WADA’s appeal Narsingh, who is scheduled to fight in the 74kg freestyle category on August 19, will not only be able to take part in the Games here but could also face a career-threatening four-year ban.

Enduring a disastrous campaign thus far, the medal-less Indian contingent has been pinning its hopes mainly on shuttlers Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth, besides its wrestlers – including world championship bronze medal winner Narsingh – to end the drought before the disheartening development.

Eleven days of action have failed to bring India, that won a record six medals in London four years ago, a single podium finish and there’s growing desperation to end this poor run.