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In the Syed Modi International, Indian badminton fans watched Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto take on world No.15 Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi in the women's doubles final.
The Indian duo had pulled off a surprise victory against their better-ranked compatriots Treesa Jolly and Gayathri Gopichand in the quarterfinals. Luck bent on their side in the semis when world No.5 and top seeds Sayaka Hiroto and Yuki Fukushima were forced to retire from their match.
Ashwini and Tanisha, who've had great form all week, started out strong in the women's doubles final of the Syed Modi International. They kept within striking distance of their Japanese foes for the initial half of the first game, but the third seeds eventually pulled ahead to take the game 21-14.
Not one to give up easy, Ponnappa and Crasto fought back hard in the next set. Some impressive rallies later, the Indians managed to force a decider 21-17.
The final game started out shaky for Ashwini and Tanisha, as their Japanese counterparts raced to a 8-1 lead. While the Indian duo did their best to stage a comeback, it simply wasn't meant to be. Rin and Kie eventually managed to seal the deal 21-15.
Syed Modi International Results
Meanwhile, the rest of the finals at the Syed Modi International were just as fascinating as the women's doubles.
Chi Yu Jen, who beat home favorite Priyanshu Rajawat yesterday, managed to clinch a surprise victory against second seed Kenta Nishimoto.
Former world champion Nozomi Okuhara, who was battling Dane Line Kjaersfeldt, took home the women's singles title after a straight-game win.
The mixed doubles saw a heated contest between Yuki Kaneko/Misaki Matsumoto and Dejan Ferdinansyah/Gloria Widjaja before the latter claimed a painstaking triumph. Lastly, Malaysia's Choong Hon Jian/Muhammad Haikal took down first seeds Akira Koga/Taichi Sato for their win in the men's doubles.
