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Ace India shuttler Srikanth Kidambi was forced into a tough battle before securing his spot in the final of the Syed Modi International in Lucknow. In the semi-final of the Super 300 event on Saturday, Kidambi held his nerve to record a 21-15, 19-21, 21-13 win over his compatriot Mithun Manjunath. Joining him in the final are the Indian women’s doubles pairing of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who moved into the summit clash with a dominant 21-11, 21-15 victory over the Malaysian duo of Carmen Ting and Ong Xin Yee.
Jolly and Gayatri are now set to face Mai Tanabe and Kaho Osawa of Japan for the title.However, it was the end of the road for several other Indian players in the singles draw. Promising youngster Tanvi Sharma went down to Hina Akechi of Japan in straight sets, 17-21, 16-21, while Unnati Hooda was also shown the exit door after losing to Nesliha Arin of Turkey, 15-21, 10-21.
A day earlier, Sharma, a teenage sensation, had managed a notable win by registering a 21-13, 21-19 triumph over Hong Kong’s Lo Sin Yan Happy to reach the final-four. This came after she bettered former World Champion Nozomi Okuhara in the pre-quarters, rallying from a game down to win 13-21, 21-16, 21-19 in 59 minutes.
In the other quarter-final results that led to the semifinals, Hooda had earned her place with a 21-15, 13-21, 21-16 victory over compatriot Rakshitha Ramaraju. Before beating Hooda in the semis, the Turkey star Arin had knocked out Isharani Baruah in a close match, 19-21, 21-13, 15-21. Finally, the mixed doubles pairing of Jolly and Harihara Amsakarunan were also defeated, going down to the Indonesian duo of Bernardine Anindiya Wardana and D Ferdinansyah in two tight games, 17-21, 19-21.
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