Top seeds P V Sindhu and Lakshya Sen produced commanding performances to claim the women's and men's singles titles, respectively, at the Syed Modi International badminton tournament in Lucknow on Sunday.
Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, ended her long title drought by outplaying China's world number 119 Wu Luo Yu 21-14, 21-16 to lift the trophy for the third time, having previously triumphed in 2017 and 2022.
In the men's singles final, Lakshya, a 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, was at his dominant best as he demolished Singapore's Jia Heng Jason Teh 21-6, 21-7 in the title clash, displaying complete command over the match.
Sindhu's victory marks her return to the top of the podium after over two years, with her last title win being at the Singapore Open in July 2022. The world number 18 also reached the finals of the Malaysia Masters Super 500 earlier this year.
Lakshya's win comes as a balm after a disappointing loss in the bronze medal playoff at the Paris Olympics. The victory will undoubtedly boost his confidence ahead of the new season.
Indian badminton had more to celebrate on the day as the women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand clinched their maiden Super 300 title with a convincing 21-18, 21-11 win over China's Bao Li Jing and Li Qian.
The Commonwealth Games bronze medallists, who have also secured qualification to the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals in China, looked in scintillating form as they outplayed their Chinese opponents 21-18, 21-11 in just 40 minutes.
This victory marked a historic moment as Treesa and Gayatri became the first Indian women's doubles pair to win the title at this tournament. The pair had finished runner-up in the 2022 edition.
The Indian duo started strong, surging to a 4-0 lead in the opening game. However, Bao and Li fought back, making it a closely contested affair at 14-14. Treesa's diving effort in the front court and errors from the Chinese allowed the Indians to edge ahead 17-15.
Gayatri's sharp net play helped the Indians secure two game points, and she sealed the opener with a clinical finish at the net.
After the change of sides, Treesa and Gayatri shifted gears, storming to a 11-5 lead at the interval. The Indians widened the gap to 18-7 with a series of dominant rallies. A powerful smash from Gayatri handed them 11 match points, and they wrapped up the title on their third opportunity.
Pruthvi-Sai, Tanisha-Dhruv finish as runners-up
In men's doubles, Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K put up a valiant fight in the final before going down 14-21, 21-19, 17-21 to China's Huang Di and Liu Yang in a marathon 71-minute contest.
Earlier, fifth seeded Tanisha and Dhruv squandered an opening game advantage before losing 21-18 14-21 8-21 to Thailand's sixth-seeded pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran in the mixed doubles final.
Pruthvi and Sai stayed toe-to-toe with the Chinese pair until 8-8 in the opening game, but the opponents pulled ahead to grab the first game. The Indians rallied in the second, holding an 11-7 lead at the break and fending off a late surge to level the match.
In the decider, the duo showed fighting spirit, recovering from 1-5 to tie at 7-7, with Sai unleashing powerful smashes. However, despite narrowing the gap to 17-18, the Chinese pair held its nerves to clinch the match.
In the mixed doubles summit clash, Tanisha and Dhruv surged to a 6-0 lead but saw their advantage slip as the Thai pair recovered to edge ahead 14-12.
What followed was a neck-and-neck battle, with both pairs trading points up to 18-18. However, Tanisha stepped up when it mattered the most, capitalizing on a weak return to dazzle at the front court and secure two game points for the Indians.
The opening game was sealed when a mistimed shot from the Thai pair sailed wide, handing Tanisha and Dhruv the upper hand in the match.
Dechapol and Supissara bounced back to take a 11-6 advantage in the second game and kept their nose ahead to take the match to the decider.
The Indians were tentative and erratic in the third game as the Thai pair sustained the momentum to eke out a 11-5 lead at the break. The Indians gathered three quick points on resumption but lacked consistency as Dechapol and Supissara seized 12 match points.
The Thai pair sealed the contest when Tanisha found the net.
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