India’s ace shuttler, Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, defeated fellow countrywoman Malvika Bansod in straight sets (21-13, 21-16) to win her 2nd Syed Modi International Badminton Championship on Sunday.
The tournament was held on closed doors between 18-23 January in Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, Lucknow.
A Predominantly Indian BWF Tournament
25 out of the 32 players that took part in the Women’s Singles event were Indians, as only a handful of lower-ranked international players had registered for the tournament. Many of the men’s and double’s players had opted out of the event due to COVID-19.
Indian Open winner Lakshya Sen, the doubles winning pair of Swastiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and Kidambi Srikanth were a few notable absentees of the championship.
Sindhu Outshines the Rest
PV Sindhu had previously won the championship in 2017 after she defeated Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21-13, 21-14 in the finals.
The former World No. 2 was looking to end her title jinx as she had not won a single BWF title since the world crown in 2019.
Tanya Hemanth was the first victim of Sindhu’s title securing run. In the second round, the 26-year-old faced USA’s Lauren Lam and won the match 15-21, 21-16, 21-16.
Thailand’s Supanida Katethong was arguably the most challenging opponent Sindhu faced in the tournament. The World No. 30 had defeated Sindhu in the Indian Open semifinals last week.
But PV Sindhu outplayed Katethong in a 3-game quarter-final with a scoreline of 11-21, 21-12, 21-17. She described the victory as a ‘sweet revenge’.
Statement
“Last week in the Indian Open it wasn’t my day and I think it happens. But I played with her (Supanida) again here and it was sweet revenge that I won against her this time.”
Evgeniya Kosetskaya of Russia was Sindhu’s semifinal opponent. The Russian had to retire from the mat due to an injury after PV Sindhu won the first game 21-11. This resulted in Sindhu entering the finals of the event without a tussle.
Young Malvika no match for the Seasoned Pro
With most of the top seeds missing out, young Indian shuttlers had an opportunity to prove themselves on the big stage. Malvika Bansod made full use of the chance and crusaded to the final, losing just a single set in the process.
But the 20-year-old player from Maharashtra could not outmatch Sindhu’s prowess on the court. Sindhu took off from the word go and used her vast experience immaculately to win the title.
Although Bansod picked up a few points to close the gap, it was a single-sided affair throughout.
The Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist was impressed by the rookie’s run in the tournament.
Statement
“She (Bansod) is an upcoming player and she is doing really well. She had some good matches in the quarter-finals and semifinals. She played well and there were some good rallies.”
Men’s Singles Finals declared ‘No Match’
The final match that had to take place between Arnaud Merkle and Lucas Claerbout didn’t commence and was declared a ‘no match’ by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) as one of the finalists returned a positive result for COVID-19.
Details of the winner trophy, prize money and ranking points will be announced in due course of time.
Read More : Lakshya Sen and Chirag-Satwik duo wins gold in the Indian Open Final
