Paris: World No.8 shuttler Kidambi Srikanth kept the Indian flag fluttering at the Paris Open Super Series badminton tournament here Saturday even as PV Sindhu’s run at the event came to an end with a one-sided loss to Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.
Srikanth defeated compatriot and training partner HS Prannoy 14-21, 21-19, 21-18. In the final he will face Kenta Nishimoto of Japan who prevailed over Anders Antonsen of Denmark 21-17, 21-15.
This will be Srikanth’s fifth appearance in a Super Series final this season. He has already won three Super Series titles, the first Indian to achieve the feat and the second after the legendary Chinese player Lin Dan to have scaled such heights. If Srikanth wins Sunday, he will create badminton history.
However, it was Prannoy who was aggressive at the start and controlled proceedings with some steep smashes. He won the first game easily and also had a healthy 6-2 lead in the second. However, once Srikanth levelled at eight-all it became a nerve-wracking affair. Leads changed hands frequently and it was Srikanth who held his nerve at the crucial juncture to win the second game and restore parity.
The third game was also closely fought. It was six-all, then nine-all and only at 16-14, did Srikanth manage a slender lead. He held on to that to finally win the match.
Sindhu on the other hand had a below-par outing as she lost 14-21, 9-21 in the semifinal. It took fifth seed Yamaguchi only 37 minutes to blow away the Indian challenge in the last four clash. While the first game lasted 19 minutes, the second game’s duration was a minute less.
There was a sudden drop of intensity in Sindhu’s performance in the first game at 14-14, when Yamaguchi reeled off seven straight points to wrap it up at 21-14.
Yamaguchi repeatedly attacked Sindhu’s left side as she found it difficult to control the shuttle there. The Olympic silver medallist was sluggish in her movement as Yamaguchi, with her powerful smashes, did not allow Sindhu to approach the net.
The second game was a one-way traffic as Yamaguchi straightaway went 5-0 up and, at the mini-break, was leading 11-2.
Sindhu did win a few points with some deft drop shots, but it was too late in the day, as Yamaguchi won the second game at 21-9 to make it to the summit round.
Agencies
