Syed Modi Badminton | Malvika to meet Sindhu
The Hindu
Frenchmen Merkle, Claerbout in final
Malvika Bansod battled from the brink of defeat to set up a face-off with P.V. Sindhu in the final before unseeded players Arnaud Merkle and Lucas Claerbout turned the men’s title clash into an all-France affair in the $150,000 Syed Modi India International badminton tournament.
Though Saturday witnessed a number of matches that went the distance, Sindhu was required to spend only 13 minutes on the court against Evgeniya Kosetskaya. After Sindhu won the first game 21-11, the Russian girl gave up the match due to stomach pain.
From the other semifinal, Malvika faced unexpected resistance from Anupama Upadhyay. During the 66-minute match, Malvika was down a game and trailed 16-19 in the second before turning the script on its head, winning 19-21, 21-19, 21-7.