It was mixed fortunes for India as K. Srikanth defeated H.S. Prannoy in the semifinals 14-21, 21-19, 21-18 while P.V. Sindhu was below par against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi and lost 21-14, 21-9 in a one-sided last-four clash of the French Open Super Series badminton tournament here on Saturday.
Srikanth’s dream season turned even better with his fifth entry into a Super Series final. Having already completed a hat-trick of Super Series titles, Srikanth will aim to win his fourth crown of the season when he plays Kenta Nishimoto of Japan, who defeated Anders Antonsen of Denmark 21-17, 21-15 in the other semifinal.
Srikanth once again showed his stamina and ability to take the match deep even after Prannoy started on a rousing note with 21-14 victory in the first game.
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It was battle on even keel during the next two games as Srikanth’s big match temperament came to the fore during big points.
In the women’s section, it took fifth-seeded Yamaguchi only 37 minutes to blow away the Indian. While the first game lasted 19 minutes, the second game’s duration was 18 minutes.
There was a sudden drop of intensity in Sindhu’s performance in the first game at 14-14 when Yamaguchi reeled off seven straight points to wrap it up 21-14.
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Yamaguchi repeatedly attacked Sindhu’s left, which the latter found it difficult to control. The Indian was sluggish in her movement as Yamaguchi, with her powerful smashes, did not allow her opponent to approach the net.
The second game was one-way traffic as Yamaguchi went 5-0 up in no time and led 11-2 at the mini-break.
Sindhu did win a few points with some deft drop shots, but it was too late in the day.
The results:
Men’s singles (semifinals) : K. Srikanth bt H.S. Prannoy 14-21, 21-19, 21-18; Kenta Nishimoto (Jap) bt Anders Antonsen (Den) 21-17, 21-15; Quarterfinals: Srikanth bt Shi Yuqi (Chn) -21, 21-19, 21-9.
Doubles (quarterfinals): Mathias Boe & Carsten Mogensen (Den) bt Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty 21-5, 17-21, 21-17.
Women (semifinals): Akane Yamaguchi (Jap) bt P.V. Sindhu 21-14, 21-9.