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2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt produced a gutsy display to enter the final of the Yonex Welsh International 2017 in Cardiff, Wales on Saturday. The 27-year-old Indian, a qualifier at this Future Series tournament, stunned the top seed Sam Parsons, 14-21, 21-18, 21-18 in the semi-final match that lasted 1 hour 2 minutes.
Nearly 200 ranking places separate the 277th ranked Gurusaidutt from the 89th ranked Englishman. But the Indian made a mockery of the huge gulf in the rankings as he put on a show of determination.
After losing the opening game, he trailed even in the initial stages of the second game from where he held his nerves for the narrow win. Parsons saved two match points after Gurusaidutt went up 20-16. The lower-ranked player was able to stave off his challenge as he slammed shut the match.
He meets the seventh seeded Nhat Nguyen of Ireland, who is placed at 196th in the world rankings.
This is the second final in three BWF tournaments for Gurusaidutt since he made his comeback from injury in October. The Indian shuttler, who was once ranked as high as No. 19, suffered from a severe ankle injury that required a surgery and consequently, kept him out of action for about a year.
His ranking dropped to below 900 when he played at the Bulgarian International in October as a qualifier. Winning that tournament allowed him to break back within 500 and he followed it up with a quarter-final finish at the Scottish Grand Prix last month.
Also read: Welsh International: RMV Gurusaidutt and Tanvi Lad reach semi-finals
Tanvi Lad in women’s singles final
Gurusaidutt was not the only Indian to reach the summit clash at the Welsh International on Saturday. Women’s singles top seed Tanvi Lad swatted aside the third seed Jordan Hart of Wales, 21-18, 21-9 in just 32 minutes to make it through to the final.
The 91st ranked Lad meets the seventh seeded Marie Batomene of France in the title showdown.
Lad, who won a round at the World Championships in August, has been highly impressive throughout this tournament and did not even drop a game.
