It was another good show by the Indians in the Russian Open Grand Prix as Indian shuttlers Ruthvika Shivani Gadde, Siril Verma and the mixed doubles pair of Sikki Reddy Nelakurihi and Pranaav Jerry Chopra all reached the finals of their respective events at Sport Hall Olympic on Saturday.
Ruthvika Shivani Gadde, who is all set to break into the world top 50, continued her good run in the tournament after she brushed past local favorite Ksenia Polikarpova in the semi-final fixture. The fourth seed overcame the higher-ranked opponent winning 2-0 with the score reading 22-20 21-13.
Polikarpova was seeded second in the tournament and was one of the favourites to win. However, Gadde showed tremendous grit and aggression as she dominated the second game and claimed her place in the final.
The young Indian shuttler now faces Evgeniya Kosetskaya of Russia in the women's singles final. Kosetskaya has been in god form throughout the Open and defeated fellow country mate Natalia Perminova 19-21 21-16 21-8 in a tense match.
Siril Verma also impresses in men's singles event
Siril Verma also progressed to the finals in the men's singles event. Verma beat Anatoliy Yartsev of Russia 2-0 winning 24-22 21-16. Malaysian Zulfadli Zulkiffli, who defeated Russian V. Malkov in the first semi-final fixture, will face the Indian in the final of the event on Sunday.
Verma has been in incredible form as he made his way to the finals and the Indian fans will be hoping for a victory from the shuttler. He outclassed tournament favourite Yartsev with gusto and never let the Russian off the hook.
Te Indian mixed doubles pair of Reddy Nelakurihi and Pranaav Jerry Chopra, who earlier breezed past Aleksandr Vasilkin and Kristina Virvich in the quarters 21-10 21-8, carried their momentum forward as they went into the finals. In the semi-finals, the duo eased past Russian pair Yartsev and Evgeniya Kosetskaya winning 21-11 21-17.
Out of the five events at the Russian Open Grand Prix, Indians are in the finals of three events. The Indians overall had an amazing day and the country will hope for the shuttlers to win all their matches in the finals.
