Syed Modi International: Tanvi Sharma, Unnati Hooda Srikanth Advance To Semi-Finals

Tanvi Sharma crushed Hong Kong's Lo Sin Yan Happy in straight games to storm into the semifinals while Unnati Hooda Srikanth also made their way into the final four.

Tanvi Sharma crushed Hong Kong's Lo Sin Yan Happy in straight games to storm into the semifinals while Unnati Hooda and Srikanth also made their way into the final four of the Syed Modi International Super 300 in Lucknow on Friday. In the women's singles, the 16-year-old Tanvi, who had earlier defeated former world champion  Japan, needed only 38 minutes to brush aside the challenge of Lo Sin 21-13, 21-19. Tanvi will take on fifth seeded  of Japan, who got the better of third seed Sung Yun 21-8, 21-15 in the other quarterfinal.

Unnati was made to work hard by compatriot Santosh R in the quarterfinal, before winning 21-15, 13-21, 21-16. Unnati will face off against fourth seed  Arin in the semifinals, after the Turkish player beat India's  Baruah 21-19, 13-21, 21-15.

In the men's singles, Srikanth made it to the semis after his opponent  retired at the score of 21-14, 11-4. Srikanth will take  who21-18, 21-13 in the last eight.

Singapore's Jason  the men's top seed, lost 19-21, 21-12, 20-22 in an hour and five minutes against Minoru Koga of Japan, who will take on Hong Kong's Jason in the semifinals.

In the women's doubles, top seeds Gayatri Gopichand and  Jolly defeated fifth seeds  and 21-15, 21-16 to enter the semifinals.

 will also feature in the mixed doubles semifinal alongside Hariharan after the pair defeated Australia's  and Nozomi Shimizu 21-18, 21-14 in the quarterfinals.

Srikanth and women's doubles winners  Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand notched up contrasting wins to progress to the men's and women's doubles finals of the Syed Modi International badminton tournament.

Former champion  Srikanth and defending women's doubles  and Gayatri Gopichand notched up contrasting wins to progress to the men's and women's doubles finals of the Syed Modi International badminton tournament in Lucknow on Saturday. The 32-year-old Srikanth, who lifted the title in 2016, staved off a spirited challenge from compatriot and 2023 national champion  Manjunath to prevail 21-15 19-21 21-13 in a pulsating last-four clash. "It was important to get a good start and keep my mistakes low. He always plays well against me, so happy with my performance," Srikanth said.

A 2021 World Championships silver t, Srikanth, who had earlier reached the final of the Malaysia Masters this season, now will face Hong Kong's Jason  in the summit clash.

Moments before Srikanth's victory, world No.14  and Gayatri displayed sharp tactical awareness and excellent control of the conditions to record a commanding 21-11 21-15 win over Malaysia's world No.33 Ong Xin Yee and Carmen Ting in the women's doubles semifinals.

The Indian pair, playing only their second event since Gayatri's return from a five-month shoulder injury layoff, will face Japan's eighth seeds  and Mai Tanabe in Sunday's final as they seek to defend their crown.

"It is really good to be back after a long time and we are defending champions, so really happy to be playing finals tomorrow," Gayatri said.

"The whole match was in our control. We are playing the Japanese pair, it won't be easy. We have to be patient,"  added.

However, India's women's singles campaign came to an end in the semifinals, with both Unnati Hooda and Tanvi Sharma suffering straight-game defeats.

Unnati went down 15-21 10-21 to Turkey's  Arın, while Tanvi, who had stunned former world champion Nozomi  earlier in the event, lost 17-21 16-21 to Japan's.

Earlier, the mixed doubles pair of Hariharan  bowed out with a 17-21 19-21 loss to Indonesia's  and Bernadine a.

Srikanth vs Manjunath

Manjunath had beaten former world No.1 Srikanth twice on the international circuit -- at the 2022 Singapore Open and the 2024 Thailand Masters -- and had also toppled him in the 2023 national final.

However, Srikanth  the history between them with controlled aggression and discipline to reach his second final of the season.

He started strongly, racing to an 8-2 lead in the opener. Though Manjunath kept the pressure on, Srikanth broke away from 14-12 to pocket the first game.

Switching sides shifted momentum as Manjunath fought back to draw level at 7-7 and entered the interval with an 11-9 lead. He then accelerated to 16-9 before Srikanth reeled off seven straight points to claw back at 18-18. Manjunath, however, held his nerve at the end to force a decider.

The third game saw Srikanth regain his fluency, staying ahead throughout and taking a five-point cushion into the interval. On resumption, he stayed in command, moving to 18-11 before closing out the contest comfortably.

Gayatri march on

 and Gayatri put up a dominant show in the opening game, pulling ahead from 8-7 to take an 11-7 lead at the interval. Maintaining a tight grip thereafter, they comfortably extended the advantage before sealing the game after their opponents committed two unforced errors.

After the change of ends, the Malaysians fought back strongly, matching the Indians point for point before  and Gayatri edged ahead 11-10 at the break.

The home pair then created vital separation at 17-14 and earned five match points when their rivals sent a shuttle long. A series of high tosses ended with Ting sending another shot long, handing the Indians the match.