Saina reached her first finals in 15 months after prevailing over China’s Xuan Deng 21-14, 17-21, 21-19 while Sindhu surpassed Lindaweni Fanetri from Indonesia 21-6, 12-21, 21-17 to set up their first ever international clash against each other. The two, however, have played at the inaugural Indian Badminton League (IBL) last year where Saian got the better of Sindhu on two occasions. In men’s category, K Srikanth sailed into the final by overcoming compatriot H S Prannoy 21-18, 22-20, while young Aditya Prakash could not extend his dream run any further as he went down 10-21, 7-21 against ninth seed Xue Song of China in the other semifinal.
Saina, the top seed, was untouchable in the first game as she kept a distance right from the start to the end even though Xuan kept fighting. The second game was won Xuan but in the decider, Saina pulled up her socks after initial hiccups, making Xuan run all across the court. Though Xuan made a valiant comeback to take the game to the wire, the experienced Saina held her nerve to seal the issue 21-19 in her favour.
Saina, the top seed, was untouchable in the first game as she kept a distance right from the start to the end even though Xuan kept fighting. The second game was won Xuan but in the decider, Saina pulled up her socks after initial hiccups, making Xuan run all across the court. Though Xuan made a valiant comeback to take the game to the wire, the experienced Saina held her nerve to seal the issue 21-19 in her favour.