Indians claims two titles in Russian Open

Indian shuttlers signed off an impressive campaign at the Russian Open Grand Prix, notching up the women’s singles as well as the mixed doubles titles here on Sunday.

Fourth seed Ruthvika Shivani Gadde emerged triumphant in the women’s singles event, beating local favourite Evgeniya Kosetskaya 21-10, 21-13 in a 26-minute contest.

In the mixed doubles final, N Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Chopra edged past the Russian duo of Vladimir Ivanov and Valeria Sorokina 21-17, 21-19 to claim the top honours.

However, it was heartbreak for Siril Verma who lost 21-16, 19-21, 10-21 to Malaysia’s Zulfadli Zulkiffli in the men’s singles final after battling it out for over an hour.

For Ruthvika, it was her second title of the year after the South Asian Games, where she had upstaged Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu in the final.