Kidambi Srikanth lifts French Open, wins fourth Super Series title of 2017,

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India’s Kidambi Srikanth’s dream season continued as he brushed aside the challenge of Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in straight games to win the French Open Super Series men’s singles title, in Paris on Sunday. Having already completed a hat-trick of Super Series titles, Srikanth won his fourth title of the season. Srikanth, seeded eight in the tournament, took just 34 minutes to get the better of his Japanese opponent 21-14, 21-13 in the summit clash. 
The win ensured Srikanth, who played his fifth Super Series final this season, bag his second consecutive title in two weeks after winning the Denmark Open in Odense last week. Srikanth, thus, became only fourth men’s singles player to win four or more Super Series titles in a calendar year. Going by Srikanth’s current form, it was expected to be a one-sided summit clash and it turned out to be one, except for the first few points of the opening game which was a neck-and-neck fight between the two shuttlers. It was Nishimoto, who started brightly to race to a 9-5 lead before 
Srikanth fought back to draw level at 9-9. From there on it was no looking back as the Indian used his court coverage and superior technique to take a 14-10 lead.Nishimoto did manage to take some points to reduce the margin to 15-14 before Srikanth used his experience at the highest level to pocket six straight points and win the first game. Srikanth continued his good form in the second game and won five straight points to take a commanding 10-2 lead.
Nishimoto tried his best to force a comeback and managed to reduce the margin to 13-8 but the Indian showed his class and superiority in crunch situations to keep his lead intact and win the game 21-13 and claim his second consecutive title in as many week

Japan Open Superseries: Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu Lose; Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy Reach Quarters

Olympics medallists PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal crashed out of the USD 325,000 Japan Open Superseries after suffering straight-game defeats in second round on Thursday. However, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy advanced to the quarterfinals of the men's singles. Playing local favourite and world champion Nozomi Okuhara for the third consecutive time, Sindhu could not bring to the fore her best game and committed too many errors to go down 18-21 8-21 in a lop-sided 47-minute contest.

The match lacked the long intense rallies, which were the hallmark of their last two contests -- the 110-minute World Championship final and last week's 83-minute Korea Open summit clash, which Sindhu had won.

Rio Olympics silver medallist Sindhu squandered a lead of 11-9 and 18-16 in the opening game and looked completely out of sorts in the second game to bow out early.

London Games bronze medallist Saina too squandered a 14-10 lead in the opening game and a 6-4 advantage in the second to go down 16-21 13-21 to Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain, seeded fifth.

However, World No.8 Srikanth, who clinched back-to-back titles in Indonesia and Australia this year, demolished Hong Kong's Hu Yun 21-12 21-11 within half an hour to make it to the final eight.

The Indian will now face the recently-crowned world champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.

Currently locked 2-2 in the head-to-head record, Srikanth had initial success against Viktor but the Dane had an upper hand in the last two meetings, winning in straight games.

"It was a good match. He can be very dangerous if you give him a chance, so I wanted to play very consistent," said Srikanth.

US Open champion Prannoy managed to upstage Chinese Taipei's Hsu Jen Hao 21-16 23-21. He will now play against second seed Chinese Shi Yuqi.

World No. 2 Shi, who had reached the finals of All England Championship early this year, staved off a challenge from Syed Modi International winner Sameer Verma 10-21 21-17 21-15 in another match.

Among others, the mixed doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy played their heart out before losing 27-29 21-16 12-21 to Indonesian fourth seeds Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto in a match that lasted an hour and six minutes.

Sindhu led 6-2 early on but Okuhara closed the gap to 8-9 before Sindhu's straight return bamboozled the Japanese. The Indian failed to negotiate a cross-court return from Okuhara, who miscued a stroke to the net to give a 11-9 advantage to the Indian at the break.

Okuhara quickly erased the deficit and grabbed a 12-11 lead after winning a long rally with a deceptive return. The Japanese continued to dominate as she unleashed a body smash and then won a video referral to move to 15-11.

Sindhu broke the run of play with a cleverly set-up point where she used a cross court flick followed by a push at the back court.

The Indian used the wristy flick at the net to narrow the margin to 14-15 and then clawed back when the local favourite hit long.

A whipping smash and then aided by Okuhara's two returns going to the net saw Sindhu lead 18-16. But the Indian failed to make use of the advantage as Okuhara reeled off four straight points, the final stroke an on-rushing over-the-head smash to earn the bragging rights.

After another self-talk, Okuhara once again started her duel with the Indian, opening up a 3-0 lead, which she extended to 9-3.

Sindhu failed to reign in her errors, allowing Okuhara to move ahead. The Japanese eventually led 11-4 after producing a smash.

Frustration was writ large on her face as Sindhu found the net after the interval. The Indian continued to find the going tough as Okuhara led 16-5 before Sindhu again found the net.

Sindhu continued to falter with her strokes and the result was Okuhara led 19-7. With another return getting buried at the net, it was 12 match-point advantage for Okuhara, who sealed it quite easily in the end.

World Badminton Championships: PV Sindhu Loses Thrilling Final, Finishes With Silver

PV Sindhu went down fighting against Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in a match that swung like a pendulum in the World Badminton Championship final on Sunday. Sindhu, having lost the first game 19-21, came back brilliantly in the second game, winning it 22-20 before going down in the final game 20-22. Sindhu's gallant effort to become India's first ever World Champion ended in a heart-wrenching defeat against her Japanese opponent. 

In a thrilling final, which tested the physical and mental strength of both the players, Sindhu lost 19-21, 22-20, 20-22 after battling hard for one hour and 49 minutes. Their bodies falling apart as the match progressed but both Sindhu and Okuhara used every ounce of energy left with them to make it an epic contest. After closing the second game by winning an incredible 73-shot rally, Sindhu saved one championship point in the decider but it was the Japanese who had the last laugh. Nevertheless, Sindhu fought like a true champion and kept her promise that she would strive to change the colour of her medal, having won two bronze from past editions.

 Although she would have hoped for a gold, which no Indian has even won at the World Championship. For India, it still was a historic edition since for the first time country's shuttler are returning with two medals. Saina Nehwal had won a bronze on Saturday after losing her semifinal. India had one silver and four bronze in the World Championships before this edition. 

Prakash Padukone was the first Indian to win a medal when he took a bronze in the men's singles in 1983 before the women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa bagged another bronze in 2011. Rio Olympic silver medallist Sindhu came into the match with a 3-all head-to-head record against Okuhara. But the Indian had an upper hand in their last two meetings -- Rio Olympics and 2017 Singapore Open. S

indhu, seeded fourth, was a little sluggish to start with and was 3-5 at one point but she managed to reel off eight points on the trot to grab an 11-5 lead at the break. The Indian used her height to good use, retrieving the shuttles quickly and started using her cross court returns to trouble the Japanese. Sindhu showed good anticipation and used deception well to move to a 13-8 lead but the pint-sized Japanese changed gears and started dictating the rallies. She first clawed back to 14-14 when Sindhu faltered with her return serve before grabbing the lead. 

Okuhara continued to move ahead, reaching 18-14 after winning 10 of the 13 points after the interval. However, the Japanese committed a few unforced errors, which helped Sindhu to level par at 19-19. Sindhu, then sent one to the net to hand over the game point to Okuhara, who pocketed the opening game when the Indian hit long. After the change of side, Okuhara struggled to control her lifts and also miscued a few shots as Sindhu led 5-1 when her rival's smash found the net. Sindhu made some sound judgements at the baseline and tried to be patient on the court to extend the lead to 9-3. 

However, Sindhu failed to reach for a low forehand return at forecourt and sent the shuttle wide thrice as Okuhara reached 7-9 before unleashing a down the line smash. A net error stopped Okuhara's run as Sindhu eventually held a 11-8 lead at the interval when her rival again went wide. At 15-13, another exceptional rally unfolded with Sindhu making the Japanese run to the deep corners and even though Okuhara made some remarkable retrieves she miscued a shot at the forecourt as Sindhu led 16-13. Okuhara brought more power to her smashes to breach Sindhu's defence and created acute angles with her wrist to reduce the margin to 16-17. Two backhand returns and a block at the net helped Sindhu move to 18-16. An extraordinary net return gave her another point and she grabbed the game point when Okuhara went long. Not ready to give up, Okuhara fell back on her extraordinary net game to save three game points. Sindhu then won a point by pushing the shuttle at the back of the court. 

What ensued next was a 73-shot long and exhausting rally which Sindhu managed to win when Okuhara's return found the net and she collapsed on the ground, drained completely. In the decider, Okuhara opened up a 5-1 lead early on as Sindhu looked a tad exhausted but some clever returns near the net helped the Indian claw back at 5-5. 

The momentum shifted again in Indian's favour as she started dominating the rallies and reached the break at 11-9 when Okuhara hit wide. After the change of sides, Okuhara erased the deficit with a backhand body smash and a forehand return. Sindhu won another long rally with an onrushing smash but she lost her second video referral as Okuhara led 13-12. They moved neck and neck till 17-17 before the Indian grabbed a 19-17 lead when Okuhara hit wide. The Japanese produced a perfect cross court reverse slice and then unleashed another cross court smash to once again level par. A net error from Sindhu handed a match point to Okuhara but the Indian saved it after winning another long rally, following a bad leave at the baseline by Okuhara. 

The Japanese grabbed the match point again when Sindhu found the net and she used it this time with a perfect return on Sindhu's backhand to become the first shuttler from her country to win the World Championship. Sindhu had reached the final after beating World No 10 Chen Yufei, late last night (Sunday).

Kidambi Srikanth beat top seed Son Wan Ho 21-15, 14-21, 24-22 in the Indonesia Open Super Series semi-final and will now face Japan's Kazusma Sakai for title on Sunday.

Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth continued his stunning run at the Indonesia Open Super Series by conquering World No.1 Son Wan Ho of South Korea and reach the final of the badminton tournament on Saturday. Srikanth beat the South Korean top seed 21-15, 14-21, 24-22 in the semi-final and will now face Japan's Kazusma Sakai for title on Sunday. Sakai had defeated the other Indian in the fray World No.25 HS Prannoy in the first semi-final to reach the summit clash.
Prannoy, who had shocked Olympic silver-medallist Lee Chong Wei and gold-medallist Chen Long in the last two days, got to the match point five times but he could not convert to eventually go down 21-17, 26-28, 18-21 in a 77-minute men's singles match. The World No.25, who had lost to the same opponent during the 2013 edition, mostly matched Sakai stroke for stroke but failed to complete the rallies.
Srikanth had a 2-4 head-to-head record against Son, having lost to the Korean four times in the last four meetings but all that didn't matter in the semi-final as he survived a battle of attrition at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC). World No. 22 Srikanth will next face World No. 47 Sakai in the finals on Sunday.
This is the fourth Super Series final for Srikanth, who had reached the summit clash in Singapore in April and won the 2014 China Open and the 2015 India Open.
Precision was the key as Srikanth and Son battled on, playing some excruciating rallies during the three-game thriller.
Srikanth produced a compact net game and used his smashes to good effect against Son, who looked equally menacing with his never-say-die-attitude.
The duo were locked 3-3 initially but Srikanth slowly moved away to make it 11-6 with a backhand tap at the net which Son couldn't negotiate.
Srikanth, however, succumbed to a series of unforced errors to allow Son claw back to 10-12. But a couple of smashes helped the Indian to extend his lead to 18-13.
After that, Srikanth's smash touched the net chord and went over as he moved to 19-13. Son netted one to give the Indian a game point and he sealed it after conceding a point.
In the second game, Srikanth opened up a 4-2 lead before moving to 8-5 but Son managed to come back at 9-9 but he grabbed a slender 11-10 lead at interval.
Srikanth moved to 13-10 but Son changed the course after the break as he slowly drew parity at 13-13 and then opened up an 18-14 lead. In the end, Son roared back into contest when Srikanth hit the net.
The decider turned out to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller as the duo battled tooth and nail right from the start, moving from 6-6 to 10-10. With Srikanth hitting out, Son grabbed a 11-10 lead at the break.

Thailand Open: India's B Sai Praneeth Beats Jonatan Christie To Claim Title

India's third seed B Sai Praneeth was in his elements in the final against Jonatan Christie as the Indian went on to win the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton title 17-21, 21-18, 21-19

PV Sindhu Beats Carolina Marin To Clinch Maiden India Open Crown,Axelsen claims men's singles title

An impeccable performance from PV Sindhu helped her win a maiden women's singles title at the $325,000 India Open Superseries in New Delhi on Sunday. The 21-year-old came out with her best game to defeat reigning Olympic and World Champion Carolina Marin of Spain 21-19, 21-16 in 47 minutes in the final. This was the Hyderabadi's second successive victory over the top seed since Sindhu's loss to Carolina in the famous 2016 Rio Olympics final. Sindhu had also beaten Carolina in the Dubai World Superseries Finals in December 2016. However, this was the Olympic silver medallist Sindhu's second Superseries title after also winning the China Open in November 2016.
Only two other Indians -- Saina Nehwal (women's singles) and Kidambi Srikanth (men's singles) -- have won the India Open previously, both clinching their respective titles in 2015.
World No.5 Sindhu, who was seeded third in the tournament, bettered her record to 4-5 against the World No.3 Carolina. The twice World Championship bronze medallist also bagged her first victory over Carolina in two meetings in India.
The India Open crown is Sindhu's second title of the year after also winning the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold in Lucknow in January.
Sindhu started on a brilliant note in the first game. Though Carolina drew first blood, it was the Indian who won the next six points to take a 6-1 lead. But the Spaniard stayed close to Sindhu's point count throughout and eventually took the lead at 18-17 and then at 19-18.
The Hyderabadi found her legs and confidence to clinch the next three points to close the game in her favour and take the crucial lead in the match.
The Indian started in the same fashion in the second game as well. Sindhu won four points on the trot to go 4-0 ahead and made sure she maintained a healthy lead throughout the second game., Though Carolina kept fighting back, the Olympic silver medallist dominated the game to easily close the game in 25 minutes and on her second match point.
Sindhu returned home with a cheque of $24,375 while Carolina got a cash reward of $12,350 for her runners-up performance.
"I really played well. The first game was really crucial for me. It was a good match overall. I am really happy with my performance. She also played well. For both of us, the first game was really important. From the start, both of us were fighting for every point. There were no easy points, there were long rallies," Sindhu said.
Asked if pocketing the first game gave her an edge, Sindhu said: "You never know because each point was important. It's just that every point was important for both of us.", indhu rated India Open as one of the important tournaments in her itinerary.
"After China Open, this is my second (Superseries) title and that too at the start of the year. I would like to thank the spectators, they were really very supportive. It's been really nice because the whole stadium was cheering for both of us."
Marin admitted that unforced errors cost her dearly.
"Today, I couldn't play my natural game. I committed a few unforced errors and that was the key of the game. The game was good for spectators but not for me because I lost. But I am happy with my overall performance this week," she said.
Axelsen claims men's singles title
Viktor Axelsen of Denmark steamrolled Chinese Taipei's Tien Chen Chou in straight games to emerge the men's singles champion at the India Open at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.
Third seed Axelsen crushed Chou 21-13, 21-10 in just 36 minutes to claim his maiden title in India.
Coming into the match, the Dane was regarded an outright favourite and he was the superior of the two shuttlers on the court as he controlled the proceedings from the word go.
Throughout the match, the Chinese Taipei shuttler was struggling to match his opponent's superior game and court coverage.
Axelsen adopted an aggressive approach and barring lapse in concentration at the start of the opening game, the Dane produced a blemish-less display.
After pocketing the first game 21-13, Axelsen made a slow start in the second game.
Chou made a promising start in the second game to race to a 5-0 lead but just when it seemed Axelsen was taking it lightly, he came back into his fore soon and pocketed a few straight points to take a 11-6 lead at the break.From there on there was no stopping the Danish shuttler as he gave very little breathing space to his opponent to clinch the game 21-10 and seal the affair in his favour.
Final results (in order of play):
Women's doubles: Shiho Tanaka/Koharu Yonemoto (Japan) beat Naoko Fukuman/Kurumi Yonao (Japan) 16-21, 21-19, 21-10
Mixed doubles: Lu Kai/Huang Yaqiong (China) beat Zheng Siwei/ Chen Qingchen (China) 22-24, 21-14, 21-17
Men's singles: Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) beat Chou Tien Chen (Chinese Taipei) 21-13, 21-10
Men's doubles: Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Indonesia) beat Ricky Karandasuwardi/Angga Pratama 21-11, 21-15
Women's singles: PV Sindhu (India) beat Carolina Marin (Spain) 21-19, 21-16