Nagpur: Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu will battle for supremacy in the women’s singles final of the Senior Badminton National Championships while in the men’s singles summit clash it will be a battle between mates Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy. Overall, the badminton lovers here are in for a treat when the finals start Wednesday.
Saina, who is currently ranked World No. 11, hardly broke a sweat as she defeated fifth seed Anura Prabhudesai 21-11, 21-10 while World No. 2 and top seed Sindhu was surprisingly stretched by Ruthvika Shivani before prevailing 17-21, 21-15, 21-11 in the semifinals.
In the men’s semifinals, second seed Prannoy overcame Subhankar Dey 21-14, 21-17, while top seed Srikanth saw off young rising shuttler Lakshya Sen 21-16, 21-18.
Saina hasn’t competed at the Senior Nationals since winning back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007, while Sindhu too gave the domestic tournament a miss after winning the 2011 and 2013 editions. The two, who are employees of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), have met twice in international competitions. Saina beat Sindhu in the 2014 Syed Modi International while the latter won at the Indian Super Series last year.
The men’s singles final is also expected to be a close affair. Srikanth and Prannoy have played four times in their international career but it was the former who had the last laugh on the last three occasions. The only time Prannoy had beaten Srikanth was way back at the 2011 Tata Open.
Among others, the mixed doubles combo of Satwik Sai Raj Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa will face top seeds Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy N after they emerged winners following the retirement of their semifinal opponents Sanyam Shukla and Sanyogita Ghorpade midway in the first game.
Pranaav and Sikki, however, had to dig deep to stave off a spirited challenge from Alwin Francis and Aparna Balan 21-16, 22-24, 21-8 in a match that lasted a little over an hour.
In the women’s doubles, the top-seeded combo of N Sikki Reddy and Ponnappa will meet Ghorpade and Prajakta Sawant in the final.
Sikki Reddy and Ponnappa beat Aparna Balan and KP Sruthi 21-10, 21-14, while Ghorpade and Sawant outlasted Rutaparna Panda and UK Mithula 18-21, 21-12, 21-16 in another last four clash.
Important results
Saina Nehwal bt Anura Prabhudesai 21-11, 21-10
PV Sindhu bt Ruthvika Shivani 17-21, 21-15, 21-11
HS Prannoy bt Subhankar Dey 21-14, 21-17
Kidambi Srikanth bt Lakshya Sen 21-16, 21-18
Press trust of India