Sourabh Verma and Pratul Joshi to clash in final of Senior Ranking badminton tournament
Pratul Joshi and Sourabh Verma will fight each other in the final of the All India senior ranking badminton tournament after wins in their respective semi-finals on Saturday. Former national champion Rituparna Das also reached the final in women’s category, where she will face Sai Uttejitha Rao.
Madhya Pradesh’s Pratul Joshi defeated Arintap Das Gupta 21-14, 21-15 in the quarters, before beating fourth seed Kartik Jindal 21-16, 21-16 in the semi-final of All India senior ranking badminton tournament in Bengaluru to fix his spot in the final of the tournament. Sourabh Verma, who used to consistently be ranked in the top 30 before a string of injuries hampered his career, defeated former junior world No 1 Lakshya Sen 21-16, 21-19 in the quarter-finals. Then he ousted Daniel Farid 21-16, 21-14 in the semis to book a spot in the final, where he would take on top seed Pratul Joshi.
In the women’s singles, Rituparna Das defeated India’s top-ranked junior Aakarshi Kashyap 21-11, 21-11 in the semi-final. Before this, Das played a marathon match in the quarter-finals against 16th seed Shikha Gautam, which she won 25-23, 21-23, 21-15 after 90 minutes. In the other semi-final clash, second seed Sai Uttejitha Rao had to fight hard to make her way into the final after being taken to three games in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals. Rao had lost the first game of her semi-final against 13th seed Ashmita Chaliha, before just about managing to win it in dying minutes 7-21, 21-15, 22-20.
