Seldom does an Indian men’s doubles pair give the home crowd reasons to rejoice.
Saturday was one such rare occasion when Akshay Dewalkar and Pranaav Chopra performed way over their World ranking of 36 to stun two-time World championship bronze medallist Korea’s Kim Gi Jung and Kim Sa Rang and gate-crashed into the final of the $120,000 Syed Modi International badminton championship here.
In an enthralling contest lasting 64 minutes, Akshay and Pranaav did not let down the screaming spectators to carve out a 25-23, 13-21, 21-17 triumph.
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After the sixth seeded ladies pair of G. Jwala and Ashwini Ponnappa surrendered to second seeds from Korea, Akshay and Pranaav brought the crowd on their feet for a thrilling finale to the day’s action. In this fast-paced battle, the Indians saved two game-points in the opening game and converted their third to take the lead. After the Koreans bounced back strongly to force the decider, Akshay and Pranaav stayed ahead for the better part and eventually broke away from 16-17 to race away to a memorable triumph.
When Kim Sa Rang netted a return from close on the first match-point, Akshay and Pranaav lay sprawling on the court as the vociferous-crowd erupted one last time. An exasperated Kim Sa Rang, who was shown a yellow card for throwing his racquet after the loss, was unable to deal with the defeat. Filled with frustration, the Korean soon found his way to the room adjacent to the Media Centre and smashed his set of racquets.
In the final, Akshay and Pranaav face unseeded Malaysians V. Shem Goh and Wee Kiong Tan who ousted Olympic silver medallist, defending champion and the top seeded Danish pair of Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen 21-16, 21-18.
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The results (semifinals):
Men: Singles: K. Srikanth bt Boonsak Ponsana (Tha) 21-14, 21-7; Huang Yuxiang (Chn) bt Shi Yuqi (Chn) 17-21, 22-20, 21-12.
Doubles: V. Shem Goh and Wee Kiong Tan (Mal) bt 1-Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen (Den) 21-16, 21-18; Pranav Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar bt Kim Gi Jung and Kim Sa Rang 25-23, 13-21, 21-17.
Women: Singles: Sayaka Sato (Jpn) bt Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (Tha) 21-15, 21-17; Sung Ji Hyun (Kor) bt Nitchapon Jindapol (Tha) 21-16, 21-8. Doubles: Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek (Ned) bt Chang Ye Na and Lee So Hee (Kor) 21-17, 21-8; Jung Kyung Eun and Shin Seung Chan (Kor) bt G. Jwala and Ashwini Ponnnappa 21-14, 21-16.
Mixed doubles: Puavaranukroh Dechapol and Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Tha) bt Kenta Kazuno and Ayane Kurihara 19-21, 21-9, 21-17; Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto (Ina) bt Shin Baek Cheol and Chae Yoo Jung (Kor) 18-21, 21-11, 21-16.