Badminton: Sindhu, Kashyap reach maiden Grand Prix finals

Lucknow: India's rising badminton star PV Sindhu and London Olympics quarter-finalist Parupalli Kashyap reached their maiden finals of a Grand Prix Gold event at the KL Garg-Syed Modi International India Grand Prix Gold here on Saturday. World No.24 Sindhu beat Thai Sapsiree Taerattanachai in straight games in the women's singles semi-final while second seed Kashyap downed Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia 21-18, 23-21 in 46 minutes in the men's singles last four match at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium.

Kashap did not exactly have an easy outing against the third seeded Indonesian, but the Indian still managed his third win against Sugiarto in their seventh encounter.

In Sunday's title-clash, Kashyap will take on Thailand's 14th seed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk, who created an upset beating fifth seed Indonesian Alamsyah Yunus 21-14, 21-17. Sindhu, who missed her elder sister's wedding in Hyderabad, next faces seventh seed and World No.33 Lindaweni Fanetri of Indonesia in the final.

Both Sindhu and Kashyap downed their opponents in straight games to reach the title clash of the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold event.

Sindhu, seeded second, dominated the affairs with her reach, court coverage and skills. She was also supreme at the net play as she won 13 points in comparison to the World No.23 who won only five. "I am very happy to reach this final. I want to win it now. I will give my level best to win this time. I played well in today's match giving my 100 per cent. I am very thankful to my coach without whom this would not have been possible. It was a good match and had a lot of long rallies," said Sindhu.

Sindhu had lost to Sapsiree in their only encounter in the same tournament last year when the Indian went down in the second round. "I played her last year too and I lost that time. I had fever and a hamstring problem then," the Indian said.

Sindhu is confident of winning her final against Fanetri. She had beaten the Indonesian in the qualification rounds of the All England Open earlier this year. "I have played her and have beaten her. I expect it to be a good match," added Sindhu.

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