CWG 2022, badminton: Sindhu, Lakshya, Satwik-Chirag reach finals; Srikanth to play for bronze

Birmingham, Aug 7 (IANS) Top Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty reached the finals in their respective categories after winning their semifinals but compatriot Kidambi Srikanth lost his match at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, here on Sunday.

World No 7 Sindhu sailed into the final of the women's singles with a hard-fought 21-19, 21-17 win over Singapore's world No 19 Yeo Jia Min at National Exhibition Centre.

It will be Sindhu's second straight CWG final. She was beaten for gold by Saina Nehwal at Gold Coast in 2018. The Indian ace also has a CWG bronze medal from 2014.

The 27-year old will take on world No 13 Michelle Li of Canada in the final on Monday to complete the set of medals at the Commonwealth Games. The Indian shuttler has beaten the Canadian in both the matches they have played this year in straight games.

Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, was trailing 5-9 but ramped up her attacking game to take the next six points and go into the first break leading 11-9. The Indian kept her grip to pocket the first game despite a late comeback by the fourth seed.

Yeo Jia Min looked brilliant in patches in the second game but a consistent Sindhu dictated the rallies to lead by two points at the break. The top-seeded consolidated her lead post interval by using similar tactics. The Singaporean tried to mount a comeback but Sindhu, sitting on five match points, came out on top in 49 minutes to sail into the final.

On the other hand, India's highest-ranked men's badminton player Lakshya Sen won 21-10, 18-21, 21-16 in the men's singles semifinal against Jia Heng Teh.

The victory against the Singaporean confirmed Lakshya's progress into the final and ensured him of at least a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022. The 20-year-old will take the court against Tze Yong NG in the men's singles gold medal match.

However, world championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth suffered a 21-13, 19-21, 10-21 defeat against 42nd-ranked Tze Yong NG in the other men's singles semifinal.

The 29-year-old was dominant in the first game but was upstaged in the next two games by the Malaysian opponent. Srikanth, the current world no. 13, will go up against Jia Heng Teh, who lost to Lakshya Sen in the semi-final, in the men's singles bronze medal match, later tonight.

Meanwhile, Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the world no 7 men's doubles pair, won 21-6, 21-15 against Malaysian opposition to progress into the final and assured at least a silver medal at the CWG 2022.

But, the young Indian women's doubles pair of Tressa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand were beaten in straight games in the semifinal by 11th-ranked pair Koong Le Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah. The Indian duo had won convincingly in the previous two rounds at Birmingham 2022.

However, Jolly and Gopichand will have an opportunity to end their campaign in style by winning the bronze medal, later tonight.