PV Sindhu cruises past Unnati Hooda to reach Syed Modi final, Lakshya Sen too makes title clash

Lucknow: Top Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen cruised to the women's and men's singles finals with dominating victories at the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament here Saturday. Top seed Sindhu outclassed the 17-year-old compatriot Unnati Hooda 21-12 21-9 in just 36 minutes in the semifinal, while Lakshya outclassed Japan's Shogo Ogawa 21-8 21-14 in 42 minutes.

Hooda struggled to challenge Sindhu, committing a series of unforced errors that allowed her illustrious opponent to maintain control throughout the match.

"I am happy with today's performance. From the beginning, I maintained the lead. I was just trying out a few strokes and overall, I was confident with the way I was playing," Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, said after the match.


"Unnati played her best, but I didn't give her a chance to overtake me. She is an upcoming player, and I wish her all the very best."

A former world champion, Sindhu, currently ranked 18th, will face China's Wu Luo Yu in the final as she chases her third Syed Modi International title.

"I need to go back and prepare for tomorrow because it's not going to be easy. From the beginning, I need to give my best," said Sindhu

Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya, on the other hand, will face Singapore's Jia Heng Jason Teh in the summit clash.

India's mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila advanced to the final with a convincing straight-game victory over China's Zhi Hong Zhou and Jia Yi Yang.

The fifth-seeded Indians secured a 21-16, 21-15 win in the 42-minute semifinal. They will meet Thailand's sixth-seeded pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran.

Indian men's doubles pair of Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K entered final with a 21-17 17-21 21-16 win over fellow Indians Ishaan Bhatnagar and Sankar Prasad Udayakumar.

Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand beat Thailand's Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard 18-21 21-18 21-10 to advance to the finals.

But top seeds Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa missed out of a summit clash after going down 21-15 16-21 13-21 to China's Bao Li Jing and Li Qian in another semifinals.

In men's singles, second seed Priyanshu Rajawat went down 13-21 19-21 to Singapore's Jia Heng Jason Teh in 48 minutes to end his campaign at the semifinal stage.