Pusarla Venkata Sindhu / External Source
New Delhi, Jan 23 (Prensa Latina) The Indian double Olympic badminton medalist Pusarla Venkata Sindhu won the Syed Modi International women’s singles title today and ended her drought of wins since winning the World Cup in Basel, Switzerland, in 2019.
The runner-up of the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games and bronze in Tokyo 2021 beat her compatriot Malvika Bansod by consecutive 21-13 and 21-16 in 35 minutes of play in the final held this Sunday at the Babu Banarasi Das indoor stadium from the city of Lucknow, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
PV Sindhu, 26 years old, first seeded and current seventh racket in the world, previously won the tournament in 2017 and this was his first match on the international circuit against Malvika Bansod, 20 years old and number 84 in the world list.
Earlier this month, the young southpaw made a splash with her victory over 2012 London Olympics bronze medalist Saina Nehwal at the Indian Open.
Bansod also won the national senior ranking tournament in December.
For her part, Sindhu fell twice in the last match of the Swiss Open and in the World Tour Finals last year, finishing runner-up in both events.
Meanwhile, the mixed doubles title went to seventh seeds Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto.
It took the Indian pair 29 minutes to defeat their countrymen T. Hema Nagendra Babu and Srivedya Guurazada 21-16 and 21-12 to claim their first Super 300 crown.
For its part, the men’s singles final between the Frenchmen Arnaud Merkle and Lucas Claerbout was declared a “no match”. One of the finalists tested positive for Covid-19, while the other was considered a close contact and was also removed from the event.
In turn, the Indian women’s doubles pair formed by Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost to Malaysians Anna Ching Yik Cheong and Teoh Mei Xing 21-12 and 21-13, in 32 minutes.
In the last match of the day, Malaysian men’s doubles Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun defeated sixth-seeded Indian duo Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala 21-18, 21-15. in 33 minutes.
The Syed Modi International 2022 is the second tournament on the Badminton World Federation calendar this year after the Indian Open and the next will be the Odisha Open Super 100 to be held in Cuttack, the former commercial capital of the state of Odisha, in the January 25 to 30.
jha/abm
