Top seed PV Sindhu clinched a straightforward win against young Unnati Hooda in two games (21-12, 21-9), securing her place in the final of the Syed Modi India International, a prestigious BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament, held in Lucknow on Saturday. This marks her third consecutive appearance in the Syed Modi final.
Dominant performance against Hooda
The two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu overpowered the 17-year-old Hooda with a score of 21-12, 21-9 in a swift 35-minute match. At 29, the Indian badminton star is set to face either Lalinrat Chaiwan from Thailand or China’s Luo Yu Wu in the championship match.
Is Sindhu’s title drought to end?
PV Sindhu has been a stalwart in Indian badminton, but her performance lately has been somewhat inconsistent. Her last significant win was at the Singapore Open in 2022. This year, she made it to the finals at the Malaysia Masters, but early exits have been a concern, including a surprising first-round loss to Canada’s Michelle Li in Finland. Winning the Syed Modi International would mark her first BWF title in two years. As the tournament’s top seed, expectations are high for her to clinch the victory.
Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto in the finals
In the mixed doubles category, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto secured their final spot with a victory of 21-16, 21-15 against China’s Zhou Zhi Hong and Yang Jia Yi. Tanisha Crasto will also team up with Ashwini Ponnappa later in the day for the women’s doubles semifinals.
Exciting Saturday line-up
Also taking the court on Saturday are promising shuttlers like Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat, along with the women’s doubles team Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand. In men’s doubles, pairs Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy-K. Sai Pratheek and Ishaan Bhatnagar-Sankar Prasad Udayakumar will showcase their skills as well.
