Rising stars set for maiden super 100 final

Indian shuttlers Tasnim Mir and Shriyanshi Valishetty will face off in an all-Indian women’s singles final at the USD 120,000 Al Ain Masters Super 100 tournament after contrasting semifinal victories on Saturday.

Former BWF World Junior No. 1 Tasnim, 20, staged a remarkable comeback against Turkey’s fifth seed Neslihan Arin, recovering from a 9-21 first-game loss to win 21-17, 21-10. Seventh-seeded Shriyanshi, meanwhile, dominated Indonesia’s Chiara Marvella Handoyo with a convincing 21-11, 21-12 victory at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium. Both will be making their maiden appearances in the tournament final.

In the men’s singles, India’s Kidambi Srikanth, the 2021 World Championships silver medallist, could not progress to the final after a tight 4-21, 21-11, 19-21 defeat to Malaysia’s Sholeh Aidil in a 50-minute semifinal clash.

Indian pairs continued their strong run in men’s doubles as Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun edged past Singapore’s Eng Keat Wesley Koh and Junsuke Kubo 20-22, 21-14, 21-16 in 52 minutes. They will meet Indonesia’s fifth seeds Raymond Indra and Nikolaus Joaquin in the final.

Saturday’s results highlight India’s growing presence in both singles and doubles at the Al Ain Masters, setting up an exciting conclusion to the Super 100 tournament.