Kashyap, Sindhu through to finals of India GP

Lucknow: The home crowd had a satisfying day here at the $120,000 Martyr Dr KL Garg-Syed Modi India GP Gold Championship here at the BBD UP Academy on a cold Saturday as both the home favourites and the top seeds left in the fray, Parupalli Kashyap and PV Sindhu made it to the finals of the men’s singles and women’s single respectively.

The 2012 Olympic quarterfinalists and second seed, Kashyap beat Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto 21-18, 23-21. The Indian star dominated almost the entire length of the match, then lost focus in the closing session but made a timely comeback in the finish. Meanwhile, teen sensation and world No. 23, Sindhu had yet another smooth outing in the tournament, trouncing her Thai opponent, the third seed Sapsiree Taerattanachai 21-12, 21-14 in the women’s singles semifinal.

Sindhu looked pleased with her performance. She said, “It’s amazing to be in the finals. Last time I lost to the same girl because I wasn’t well. Now, I’m all set for the final.” In the final, Sindhu will meet Indonesia’s Lindaweni Fanetri, who beat Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 22-20, 21-16.

The men’s singles semifinal involving Kashyap turned dramatic at the most unexpected moment with the Indian leading 17-10 in the second game, after clinching the first game 21-18. The Indian proved superior to the Indonesian in almost every department of the game – be it in the long rallies, court coverage and placement of shots. Kashyap led the score throughout the match except for one solitary instance when Sugiarto led 1-0 in the second game. That was all. Thereafter, Kashyap grew in confidence and the chance of the much-anticipated rear-guard fightback from the Indonesian looked bleak.

However, Sugiarto inched back into the fight with some clever mix of shots and deceptive placement to restore parity at 20-20. Suddenly, the match appeared to be headed for the third game, but Kashyap was in no mood to prolong his stay in the court. He finished the match with two clever points to make it 23-21.

Post-match, Kashyap said, “I’m happy to be in the final. I wasn’t pushing myself today because of my back problem.” He will take on the 14th seed Thai, Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk, who beat Indonesia’s Alamsyah Yunus 21-14, 21-17 in the other semifinal.

Meanwhile, in the other matches, in mixed doubles Nipitphon Puangpuapech and Savitree Amitrapai of Thailand beat Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Yu Yan Vanessa Neo of Singapore 21-18, 21-18 to enter the final while the Indonesian duo of Fran Kuriawan and Shendy Puspa Irawati beat Ji Wook Kang and Seung Chan Shin of Korea 21-14, 21-17. In the men’s doubles, the Korean pair of Sung Hyun Ko and Yong Dae Lee beat Gideon Markus Fernaldi and Agripinna Prima Rahmanto Putra of Indonesia 21-10, 21-8 while Korea’s Ji Wook Kang and Sang Joon Lee thrashed Indonesia’s Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki and Hendra Aprida Gunawan 21-12, 21-12.

In the women’s doubles, Indonesian pair of Komala Dewi and Jenna Gozali beat Shinta Mulia Sari and Lei Yao 18-21, 21-10, 21-10 while Thailand’s Savitree Amitrapai and Sapsiree Taerattanachi edged past the Korean pair of So Hee Lee and Seung Chan Shin 12-21, 21-18,21-19.

By Indian Sports News Network