PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy storm into Swiss Open finals, Kidambi Srikanth goes down fighting in semis

PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy kept the Indian flag flying high by reaching the finals of the Swiss Open World Tour Super 300 badminton tournament in Basel on Saturday.

However, Kidambi Srikanth’s dramatic run came to an end in the men’s singles semi-finals. The seventh seed squandered a one-game advantage to lose the battle 21-18, 7-21, 13-21 against fourth-seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia.

Second-seed and world No. 7 PV Sindhu overcame a late fightback to register a thrilling 21-18, 15-21, 21-19 win over Thailand’s Supanida Katethong in 79 nail-biting minutes.

The penultimate day of the competition, however, completely belonged to HS Prannoy. The unseeded Indian shuttler knocked out third-seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia in a pulsating men’s singles semi-final.

World No. 26 Prannoy produced a scintillating performance to upset world No. 5 Ginting with a hard-fought 21-19, 19-21, 21-18 win.

It will be Prannoy’s first final appearance in five years while his last win came at the US Open in 2017.

PV Sindhu survives scare from Thai Katethong

PV Sindhu survived a big scare against Katethong in the semis and just managed to scrape through to the final.

Double Olympic medalist Sindhu and world No. 29 Katethong had shared the spoils in their two meetings this year. Sindhu held her nerve against the fighting Thai shuttler to come out unscathed in the semis.

Sindhu, who won the Syed Modi International in January, used the court well, producing her smashes and follow-up shots to collect points in the first game. Katethong tried to stay in the rallies but she couldn’t finish them.

At the first break, Sindhu had a three-point advantage and she swelled it to 15-7 with a run of four points. The left-handed Thai tried to attack and dominate the rallies to narrow the deficit to 13-18. However, she was not consistent enough as Sindhu grabbed five game points when the Thai went long.

Sindhu found the net next, while Katethong grabbed two more points before smashing one into the nets herself to allow the Indian star to take the opening game.

Unseeded Katethong bounced back in the next game to force the decider as Sindhu made many unforced errors.

Despite great resistance from the Thai, Sindhu managed to hold on and clinch the third game 21-19. A lucky assistance from the net chord helped Sindhu move to 19-19 as she held the match point with a smash and sealed it with another powerful smash. It was Sindhu’s third win against Katethong in four meetings so far.

Sindhu to face fourth seed Busanan for the crown

Sindhu will lock horns with another Thai player, fourth-seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan, in the summit clash on Sunday. Sindhu has an impressive 15-1 record against Busanan, who is ranked 11th in the world.

The last of the Indian star's 15 wins over Busanan came in the first round of the German Open a couple of weeks ago. Sindhu's only defeat to Busanan was way back in 2019, at the Hong Kong Open when she lost in three games.

Results (Semi-finals)

Men’s singles

HS Prannoy bt 3-Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (Indonesia) 21-19, 19-21, 21-18 (72 minutes)

7-Kidambi Srikanth lost to 4-Jonatan Christie (Indonesia) 21-18, 7-21, 13-21 (55 minutes)

Women’s singles

2-PV Sindhu bt Supanida Katethong (Thailand) 21-18, 15-21, 21-19 (79 minutes)

Final line-up

Men’s singles

HS Prannoy vs 4-Jonatan Christie (Indonesia)

Women’s singles

2-PV Sindhu vs 4-Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Thailand).