Sindhu, the top seed at the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament, sailed past Hooda 21-12 21-9 in just 36 minutes in the first women's singles semifinal.
India's PV Sindhu returns to compatriot Unnati Hooda during the women's singles semi-final match at the Syed Modi India International 2024 badminton tournament, in Lucknow on November 30, 2024.
Top Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen cruised to the women's and men's singles finals with dominating victories at the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament here on Saturday.
Top seed Sindhu outclassed the 17-year-old compatriot Unnati Hooda 21-12 21-9 in just 36 minutes in the semifinal, while Lakshya outclassed Japan’s Shogo Ogawa 21-8 21-14 in 42 minutes.
Hooda struggled to challenge Sindhu, committing a series of unforced errors that allowed her illustrious opponent to maintain control throughout the match.
I am happy with today's performance. From the beginning, I maintained the lead. I was just trying out a few strokes and overall, I was confident with the way I was playing," Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, said after the match.
"Unnati played her best, but I didn't give her a chance to overtake me. She is an upcoming player, and I wish her all the very best." A former world champion, Sindhu, currently ranked 18th, will face China's Wu Luo Yu in the final as she chases her third Syed Modi International title.
"I have to go back and prepare for tomorrow as it's not going to be easy. Right from the beginning, I have to give my best," said Sindhu.
Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya will take on Singapore's Jia Heng Jason Teh in the summit clash.
In convincing straights sets victory India's mixed doubles pair, Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila advanced to final stage overcoming China's Zhi Hong Zhou and Jia Yi Yang.
The fifth seed Indians took a 42-minute semifinal 21-16, 21-15 over the opponents. It will be a battle between them and Thailand's sixth seed pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran.
The Indian men's doubles pair of Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K advanced to the final after pulling off a 21-17 17-21 21-16 win over fellow Indians Ishaan Bhatnagar and Sankar Prasad Udayakumar.
Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also reached the final with an 18-21 21-18 21-10 win over Thailand's Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard.
But top seeds Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa missed out of a summit clash after going down 21-15 16-21 13-21 to China's Bao Li Jing and Li Qian in another semifinals.
In men's singles, second seed Priyanshu Rajawat went down 13-21 19-21 to Singapore's Jia Heng Jason Teh in 48 minutes to end his campaign at the semifinal stage.
Sindhu vs Hooda
Sindhu gradually took control in the semifinal contest as she moved to a 5-3 lead with a precise cross-court drop shot, while Hooda kept pace with well-placed pushes and drops.
However, the 17-year-old's errors, particularly in the length of her lifts, allowed Sindhu to lead 11-8 at the break.
Hooda's determination to stay in rallies often resulted in smashes and drops going wide.
Sindhu stretched her advantage to 15-8 without needing to fall back on her trademark baseline smashes. Unforced errors continued to haunt Hooda, allowing Sindhu to close out the first game with comfort.
The Indian shuttler was again in top gear after the change of sides, stretching her advantage to 8-3 before taking it to 11-4 at the interval.
She continued her aggressive play with a smash, overhead cross-court drop, and body smash, taking the score to 18-7.
Hooda saved one of Sindhu's 12 match points but ultimately faltered with another error, handing Sindhu the match.
Thinking more about her game, Sindhu said: "I am definitely happy with the way I am going. Definitely, there is a scope for a lot of improvement.". It's not just that if we finish training or if we are at the top, we don't have to train. Every day is a new process, and I am doing that." On her recent failures, including her Paris Olympics campaign, Sindhu said, "I know Paris was not a good one for me. I have tried my best, but it doesn't matter. I need to get back stronger.". So, I am working on myself." Sindhu, who has been working with coaches Anup Sridhar and Korea's Lee Hyun-il, also spoke about adapting her fitness regimen.
"Every athlete has a different style of fitness. You keep growing, and at the same time, your movements need to be perfect. Maybe back in my twenties, the training program might have been different. Now, it's completely different. It depends on age, how I am playing, and my movements. Accordingly, we keep changing it."
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