India Shines at Syed Modi India International: Sindhu Ends Title Drought, Secures Three Titles

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) , December 1 : India’s badminton stars delivered a stellar performance at the Syed Modi India International tournament in Lucknow, clinching three titles across different categories. The highlight was PV Sindhu’s remarkable return to form as she ended her two-year drought on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour.

Two-time Olympic medalist Sindhu defeated China’s Wu Luo Yu in the women’s singles final, securing the title in a 47-minute match. She dominated the court with a straight-game victory, winning 21-14, 21-16. This is Sindhu’s first BWF World Tour title since the Singapore Open, a Super 500 event, in July 2022. Despite making it to the finals of the Spain Masters and Malaysia Masters in the past two years, Sindhu had struggled to claim a title until now.

In the men’s singles final, Lakshya Sen showcased his prowess with a commanding performance. The Commonwealth Games champion and Olympian defeated Singapore’s Jason Teh in a one-sided match, winning 21-6, 21-7 in just 31 minutes. This victory marks Sen’s first title since the Canada Open in 2022.

Adding to India’s triumph, the women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand claimed victory by defeating China’s Bao Li Jing and Li Qian. They won 21-18, 21-11 in a 41-minute match. This title is their first BWF World Tour victory in two years, the last being the Odisha Open in 2022.

However, India fell short in the men’s doubles and mixed doubles finals. The mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto lost to Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran. Despite winning the first game 21-18, they couldn’t maintain momentum and lost the next two games 14-21, 8-21.

In the men’s doubles final, the duo of Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K put up a valiant effort against China’s Huang Di and Liu Yang. Despite a comeback in the second game to level the match, they ultimately lost 14-21, 21-19, 17-21.

While India narrowly missed a clean sweep, the tournament highlighted the nation’s growing strength in badminton, with standout performances from its top players across multiple categories.