Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen made it a double delight for India, claiming the women’s and men’s singles titles with straight-game victories in the finals of the Hylo Open Super 500 badminton tournament here on Sunday.
Former world champion Sindhu, who won the Japan Open in July and finished runner-up at the French Open last week, displayed excellent control and precision in her strokeplay to register a commanding 21-12, 21-14 win over eighth seed and world No. 25 Line Kjaersfeldt of Denmark in the 39-minute women’s singles final. It was her second title of the season.
“It was important for me to give my 100% irrespective of who the opponent was. We’ve played a lot of times and for me it was important that I focus on every point. It’s just not about the whole game, but every point mattered to me,” Sindhu said.
“I took the lead from the beginning and I didn’t give her a chance,” she added. Later in the day, Lakshya outwitted Jonatan Christie 21-17, 21-10 in the men’s singles final to complete a memorable double for India.
With the win, the world No. 8 Sindhu earned 9,200 ranking points to strengthen her bid for a place in the season-ending World Tour Finals.
“This gives me a lot of boost, a lot of confidence. I’m happy that things are going according to plan. I’m very grateful and thankful to my whole team. Everyone has worked really hard. “I know there were days when you’re absolutely low, but still your team is there to pump you up. It’s been an amazing week and I think it’s time to go back and celebrate now. It has been an amazing two weeks,” she said. Asked if she was back to her best, Sindhu said: “Definitely yes. Hats off to my whole team, we’ve been planning accordingly. As you keep growing, it’s important to be smarter in what you choose. Agencies