Kidambi Srikanth to meet Lee Chong Wei in men's singles final

The fabulous trio of Indian badminton is in line to reap rich rewards. And what stands out is that the women’s singles final will be an all-India affair, the first time it is happening in a major international event.

Top seed P.V. Sindhu found sweet revenge against Canadian Michelle Li for the semifinal defeat at Glasgow 2014, while second-seeded Saina quelled the challenge of the always dangerous Kirsty Gilmour (Scotland) in the semifinals on Saturday.

Sindhu, initially, found the going tough against the defending champion but a change in tactics was to bring about a total turnaround. The Indian, with some impeccable drop shots and low placements, caught the Canadian on the wrong feet before gaining points at will with her smashes. Sindhu won 21-18, 21-8.

On the other hand, it was easy going for Saina before Gilmour came fighting back. Once the Indian worked her way back, there was no stopping the 2012 Olympic medallist. Gilmour was taken by surprise as Saina kept her cool and wasted no opportunity to finish off rallies before winning 21-14, 18-21, 21-17.

Prannoy misses out

The men’s singles final could also have been all-Indian affair. But it was not to be as National champion H.S. Prannony went down fighting against Malaysian legend Lee Chong Wei 21-16, 9-21, 21-14.

In the other semifinal, K. Srikanth played true to his newly acquired World No. 1 ranking to snuff out Rajiv Ouseph’s challenge 21-10, 2-17.

Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty helped India to its first ever medal in men’s doubles, though losing to the Malaysian pair Chan Peng Soon and Guo Liu Ying 21-19, 21-19 in a well-contested final.

Ashwini Ponappa and Sikki N. Reddy got bronze in women’s doubles with a well-earned 21-19, 21-19 win over Australia’s Setyana Mapasa and Granya Somerville. But, Prannoy failed to get a medal as he lost to Ouseph 21-17, 23-25, 9-21.