Former National B champion Sai Praneeth of Telangana will face Mithun Manjunath of Karnataka in the men’s badminton final of the 36th National Games here on Thursday.
Top seed Malvika Bansod of Maharashtra will take on second seed Aakarshi Kashyap of Chhattisgarh in the women’s singles summit clash, providing a potentially thrilling encounter.
In the men’s semi-finals, played at the PDDU indoor stadium here on Wednesday, Sai Praneeth beat Karnataka’s M Raghu 21-12, 21-19 while Mithun was the clear dominant player in his 21-9, 21-11 win over Aryamann Tandon of Gujarat. .
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“I felt happy with the way I played my shots. They went well,” Sai Praneeth said after his win.
Aryamann Tandon, who became the first badminton player from Gujarat to win a medal at the National Games, failed to pass Mithun on Wednesday.
“I had no response to his shots,” admitted Aryamann, who trained with Mithun at Prakash Padukone Academy in the past. “I knew his game. I was confident and decided to play an attacking game from the start. I had prepared for this game. But nothing worked.
In the women’s final, Malvika Bansod was again pushed to the brink, this time by Aditi Bhatt of Uttarakhand. However, the top seed relied on her experience to put behind her second knockdown to win 21-10, 19-21, 21-13.
Aakarshi Kashyap had a much easier outing beating Karnataka’s Tanya Hemanth 21-9, 21-15.
Other big players involved in the semi-finals were Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy who recently stopped playing together in women’s doubles.
Ashwini Ponnapa, who partners K Sai Prateek in mixed doubles, beat Hariharan Amsakarunam and VR Nardhana of Tamil Nadu in an absorbing contest 23-21, 13-21, 21-19.
“I was a bit rusty in my game. We were playing in a big tournament for the first time and it took us a while to settle in. I made some stupid mistakes but Prateek had some good smashes. I was impressed with his game. We need these types of matches to get stronger in future tournaments,” said 33-year-old Ashwini.
The Karnataka pair will face the Delhi duo comprising Rohan Kapoor and Kanika Kanwal, who beat S Sanjith and TR Gowrikrishnan (Kerala) 24-22, 21-18.
Playing for the first time in a major tournament with Gayatri Gopichand, left-hander Sikki had to adjust her game with her partner in women’s doubles. “We have never played together in a big game. She had never been paired with a southpaw either, but we gelled well,” Sikki said after routing the Delhi pair of Kavya Gupta and Khushi Gupta 21-16, 21-17.
In the final, the Telangana duo will meet Shikha Gautam and Ashwini Bhat (Karnataka), who beat Mahreen Riza and Arathi Sara Sunil of Kerala 23-21, 21-11.
La finale du double masculin will oppose PS Ravikrishna et Shankar Prasad Udaykumar du Karnataka et Hariharan Amsakarunan et Ruban Kumar du Tamil Nadu.
Results:
Simple messieurs (semi-finales) : B Sai Praneeth (Telangana) beat M Raghu (Karnataka) 21-12, 21-19 ; M Mithun (Karnataka) beat Aryamann Tandon (Gujarat) 21-9, 11-21.
Simple ladies (semi-finales): Malvika Bansod (Maharashtra) beat Aditi Bhatt (Uttarakhand) 21-10, 19-21, 21-13; Aakarshi Kashyap (Chhattisgarh) beat Tanya Hemanth (Karnataka) 21-9, 21-15.
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Doubles femmes (semi-finales): Sikki Reddy and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela (Telangana) against Kavya Gupta and Khushi Gupta (Delhi) 21-16, 21-17; Shikha Gautam and Ashwini Bhat (Karnataka) defeated Mahreen Riza and Arathi Sara Sunil (Kerala) 23-21, 21-11.
Doubles messieurs (demi-finales): PS Ravikrishna and Sankarprasad Udayakumar (Kerala) beat HV Nithin and Vaibhaav (Karnataka) 21-17, 21-14; Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar (Tamil Nadu) beat Shyam Prasad and S Sunjith (Kerala) 21-19, 21-16
Doubles mixed (semi-finales): Sai Pratheek and Ashwini Ponnappa (Karnataka) beat Hariharan Amsakarunan and VR Nardhana (Tamil Nadu) 23-21, 13-21, 21-19; Rohan Kapoor and Kanika Kanwal (Delhi) beat S Sunjith and TR Gowrikrishna (Kerala) 24-22, 21-18.
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