PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, advanced to the women’s singles final with a dominant straight-game victory over compatriot Unnati Hooda at the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton competition in Lucknow on Saturday. Sindhu, the number one seed, defeated Hooda 21-12 21-9 in just 36 minutes in the inaugural women’s singles semifinal. Sindhu will next face the winner of the other semifinal between Thailand’s Lalinrat Chaiwan and China’s Luo Yu Wu. Earlier in the day, Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila of India advanced to the final by defeating Zhi Hong Zhou and Jia Yi Yang of China in straight games.
The fifth-seeded Indians defeated fourth-seeded Chinese opponents 21-16, 21-15 in a 42-minute semifinal. They will next face the winner of the other semifinal, which will feature China’s Pin Yi Liao/Ke Xin Huang and Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Supissara Paewsampran, who are ranked sixth. Later in the day, the women’s doubles combination of Teresa Jolly and Ashwini Ponnapa will face Li Jing Bao and Qian Li in the semifinals.
Lakshya Sen, a top men’s singles player, will face Shogo Ogawa in the semifinals, while Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K, an Indian duo, will face compatriots Ishaan Bhatnagar/Sankar Prasad Udayakumar.