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The recently-concluded 2016 Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold at Lucknow witnessed some thrilling action. Most importantly, there were some impressive performances from the homegrown players that will help to boost their confidence further in this critical Olympic qualifying period.Which Indian players stood out? Here's a look at the top five performances from the homegrown players:
#5 Harsheel Dani impresses
19-year-old Harsheel Dani was another Indian who shone in the men’s singles. The Mumbai lad has had a promising career in juniors and had been the U-19 champion in the junior nationals.
It was only since the end of last year that Dani had started to live up to the promise that he showed as a junior. He reached the final of the Mersin Turkey International in December and continued that form at the Syed Modi International. He made it to the quarter-finals and on the way, he upset the 15th seed B Sai Praneeth in the second round and the seventh seed Lee Dong Keun in the third round. It indeed bodes well for the future of Indian badminton.
#4 Gutta/Ponnappa reach semi-finals
Currently placed at 14th in the BWF world rankings, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa would be looking to push their ranking up further. Their exploits at the Syed Modi International would certainly help them in their pursuit.
The Indian pair could not do much last year since winning the Canada Open and reaching the World Championships quarter-finals. The big support at the home tournament finally brought their lost spark back and they made it as far as the semis. The 2011 World Championships bronze medallists would be keen to keep up such a confident display.
#3 Parupalli Kashyaps quarter-final finish
Fourth seed Parupalli Kashyap’s title defense came to an end in the quarter-finals as he succumbed to a three-game defeat to the eventual runner-up Huang Yuxiang. But he can take a lot of positives from it as this was his first competitive tournament since after suffering from a torn calf muscle.
His three wins included a gruelling three-game triumph over the 49th ranked Zi Liang Derek Wong who had beaten him once last year at the Malaysia Masters. If he can stay fit, he can surely build on this.
#2 Chopra/Dewalkar rampage through the mens doubles draw
34th ranked men’s doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar stole the show throughout the tournament with their series of big upsets only to have a heartbreak in the final. They held two match points but could not convert as the Malaysian duo of V Shem Goh and Wee Kiong Tan made a determined comeback.
Nevertheless, they can be proud of their efforts as they made some major scalps. Their upsets included World No. 10 Angga Pratama/Ricky Karanda Suwardi in the second round, World No. 8 Mads Conrad-Petersen/ Mads Pieler Kolding in the quarter-finals and the seventh-ranked Kim Gi Jung/Kim Sa Rang in the semi-finals. Surely, this is a huge positive sign for Indian men’s doubles ahead of the Olympics.
#1 Kidambi Srikanth is third time lucky!
Kidambi Srikanth had faltered the last two years in the final, but he was not to be denied this time. The World No. 9, who had suffered a meltdown last year since winning the India Open Superseries, had been showing glimpses of a comeback at the end of the 2015 season.
He made it to the final of the Indonesian Masters where he lost to the local star Tommy Sugiarto. Srikanth carried his good form into the new year and reached the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters.
At the Syed Modi International, the top seed overcame the 47th ranked Malaysian Goh Soon Huat in a thrilling quarter-final that had the final game score 24-22. In the summit clash, Huang Yuxiang pushed him to the third game but Srikanth managed to stand up to the challenge and emerge victorious.
