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Defending champion Lakshya Sen gave a demonstration of his immense talent as he upset the top seed Abhishek Yelegar to reach the final of the India International Series tournament held at the Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad on Saturday. Sen, seeded fourth, needed just 25 minutes to prevail over Yelegar, 23-21, 21-14.
He will meet the unseeded Yee Han Chong of Malaysia in the title showdown. The latter stunned the sixth seeded Rahul Yadav Chittaboina 21-10, 21-15 in the other semi-final.
Sen will attempt to win the third senior title of his fledgling career. He earlier triumphed at the Bulgarian Open in August.
The 16-year-old has dropped a game only once on his way to the final. It was in the quarter-finals where he was given a tough fight by Kiran George. The former junior World No. 1 held his nerves for a thrilling 21-13, 11-21, 21-16 win.
Also read: BWF Rankings: Lakshya Sen rises to career-best ranking
Unseeded giant-killers in women’s singles final
The women’s singles final will be contested between the unseeded girls, Shikha Gautam and Tanishq Mamilla Palli. Both of them proved to be giant-killers at this tournament.
Gautam rebounded in spectacular fashion after losing the first game in her quarter-final match against the eighth seed Shreyanshi Pardeshi and pulled off a 7-21, 21-19, 21-18 win. The semi-final match also witnessed her resilience and determination as she edged the seventh seeded Rasika Raje for a 17-21, 21-19, 21-17 win.
The 16-year-old Palli was equally impressive against seeded opponents. In the quarter-finals, she accounted for the sixth seeded Mugdha Agrey, 15-21, 24-22, 21-17. She brought that confidence and conviction in the semi-finals too and registered a 21-17, 16-21, 21-16 win over the second seeded Chua Hui Zhen Grace of Singapore.
Nandagopal Kidambi in final
Srikanth Kidambi’s elder brother, Nandagopal Kidambi advanced to the men’s doubles final in partnership with Francis Alwin. The eighth seeded pair upset the fifth seeds Rohan Kapoor and Shivam Sharma, 21-17, 14-21, 21-18 in the semi-finals to set up a summit clash with the third seeds Arun George and Sanyam Shukla.
Women’s doubles top seeds upset
The top seeded women’s doubles duo of Meghana Jakkampudi and Poorvisha S Ram suffered a shock defeat at the hands of the unseeded Malaysian combine of Jee Lynn Lim and Zhen Yap. The latter pulled off a 23-21, 21-19 win in a tight semi-final clash that lasted 35 minutes.
They will face the second seeds Putri Sari Dewi Citra and Yujia Jin of Singapore in the final.
In the mixed doubles summit clash, the eighth seeds Rohan Kapoor and Kuhoo Garg will take on the fifth seeds Tang Jie Chen and Liu Ying Goh of Malaysia.
