Young Indian shuttler Shriyanshi Valishetty clinched her maiden BWF Super 100 title in the women's singles category at the $120,000 Al Ain Masters, defeating compatriot Tasnim Mir in a pulsating three-game final in Al Ain, the UAE, on Sunday.
The 18-year-old from Telangana, who trains at the Pullela Gopichand Academy, showed remarkable composure to fight back from a game down and prevail 15-21, 22-20, 21-7 in a 49-minute summit clash at the Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium.
It was a maiden final appearance for both Valishetty and Tasnim.
Valishetty squandered a four-point lead in the opening game as Tasnim rallied from 4-8 to 14-9, eventually pocketing the first game.
The second game turned into a neck-and-neck battle. Valishetty erased an early 1-4 deficit to go up 8-5 and later 17-14. Tasnim fought hard to stay in contention, but Valishetty held her nerve to take the contest into a decider.
Riding on that momentum, Valishetty stormed ahead in the third game.
Though Tasnim briefly led 6-5, she crumbled thereafter as Valishetty unleashed a stunning 15-point run to seal the title in commanding fashion.
In the semifinals, seventh seed Valishetty breezed past Indonesia’s Chiara Marvella Handoyo 21-11, 21-12 while Tasnim, a former BWF World Junior No. 1, got the better of Turkey’s fifth seed Neslihan Arin 9-21, 21-17, 21-10.
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