P.V. Sindhu returns to compatriot Unnati Hooda during the women’s singles semifinal match at the Syed Modi India International 2024 badminton tournament, in Lucknow, on November 30, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The next generation of Indian badminton may have to wait a little longer.
PV Sindhu, struggling for form all through the year, will be looking to finish the season on a high after reaching the final of the Syed Modi International at the Babu Banarasi Das badminton academy in Lucknow on Saturday (November 30, 2024).
The senior pro overwhelmed talented youngster Unnati Hooda 21-12, 21-19 in her most dominating performance of the competition so far to make only her second final this year in 14 outings, having lost to China’s Zhi Yi Wang at the Malaysia Masters in May. She will have another Chinese in her way to her maiden title of 2024 – Luo Yu Wu. The 23-year old, at 119 in the world, is nowhere close to Sindhu’s formidable opponent in Malaysia but her game here has been anything but ordinary.
Among the men, Lakshya Sen had another easy day on the court, winning 21-8, 21-14 against Shogo Ogawa of Japan. He will now take on Singapore’s fourth-seed Jia Heng Jason Teh, who beat promising Priyanshu Rajawat 21-13, 21-19. Lakshya has a 2-0 record against Teh.
Sindhu’s semifinal against Unnati was being seen as a clash of generations but the 17-year old youngster, despite her best efforts, fell short of matching Sindhu in every department. While Sindhu used her height to good advantage, it was evident that Unnati still has a fair way to go before challenging the top stars on the international circuit.
It was clear the youngster has the game to do so. She was quick across the court, managed to keep the shuttle in play and was able to place her shots accurately. But she could not match Sindhu’s power, net play or the ability to control the game’s momentum or pace. “I think she played really well, I wish her all the very best. I was maintaining the lead from the beginning and trying out a few strokes and didn’t give her a chance,” Sindhu said after the match.
However, the top-seeded doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanish Crasto went down in three games after winning the first to the Chinese pair of Qian Li and Li Jing Bao, paying the price for being erratic specially at the net.
The results (semifinals, Indians unless stated):
Women: singles: PV Sindhu bt Unnati Hooda 21-12, 21-9; Luo Yu Wu (Chn) bt Lalinrat Chaiwan (Tha) 21-19, 21-12; doubles: Treesa Jolly/Gaytri Gopichand bt Benyapa Aimsaard/Nuntakarn Aimsaard (Tha) 18-21, 21-18, 21-10; Qian Li/Li Jing Bao (Chn) bt Tanisha Crasto/Ashwini Ponnappa 14-21, 21-16, 21-13;
Men: singles: Jia Heng Jason Teh (Sin) bt Priyanshu Rajawat 21-13, 21-19; Lakshya Sen bt Shogo Ogawa 21-8, 21-14; doubles: Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy/K. Sai Pratheek bt Ishaan Bhatnagar/Sankar Prasad Udayakumar 21-17, 17-21, 21-16; Di Huang/Yang Liu (Chn) bt Wen Jun Sun/Yi Jun Zhu (Chn) 21-19, 21-14; mixed doubles: Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto bt Zhi Hong Zhou/Jia Yi Yang (Chn) 21-16, 21-15; Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) bt Pin Yi Liao/Ke Xin Huang (Chn) 21-11, 21-13.
Published – November 30, 2024 02:52 pm IST
