Picture Credit: Twitter
What a day it was for Indian badminton on Saturday. It saw for the first time an all-Indian affair at the BWF World Championships semifinal and by the end of it all, it was the senior partner Kidambi Srikanth who became the first Indian man to reach the final of the coveted tournament. He had beaten his compatriot Lakshya Sen 17-21, 21-14, 21-17 in a contest that lasted one hour and nine minutes.
Although the match was a closely contested one with Sen winning the first game and Srikanth coming back to take the second in style it was the deciding third set which was perhaps the most thrilling one with both individuals sensing a chance to make history and giving their best shot.
However, in what was a huge turning point in the context of the eventual result, when the score was tied at 15-15 in the final game, the two shuttlers engrossed in a brilliant rally before eventually, Srikanth managed to win it with a beautiful shot.
The video of the rally was even shared by the Badminton World Federation on their official social media account.
"Flag of India @srikidambi summons all his energy to throw in this beauty! @Huelva2021WC #TotalEnergiesBadminton #BWFWorldChampionships #Huelva2021," the video was captioned.
Check it out here:
While Srikanth will have a chance at winning the gold medal when he comes to play the final against Loh Kean Yew of Singapore on Sunday, Sen has also not returned empty-handed as he bagged a bronze at the age of 20. He joins legendary Prakash Padukone (bronze in 1983) and B Sai Praneeth (bronze in 2019) who are the only other medalists in the men's singles category in the event.
In the women's category, India's ace shuttler PV Sindhu has two silver medals other than two bronze as well as the gold which she bagged in 2019. Saina Nehwal also has a silver and a bronze to her name in the marquee event. In addition, the women's doubles duo of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa had also won the bronze in 2011.