Shuttler Srikanth enters Denmark Open final

Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth will have the chance to win his third Superseries title of the season as he entered the final of the Denmark Open here on Saturday.

Men's singles eighth seed Srikanth overcame Hong Kong's Vincent Ki Wing Wong 21-18, 21-17 in 37 minutes in the semi-finals.

With this win, Srikanth has taken a 3-2 lead in head-to-head records against Vincent.

In the final on Sunday, the 24-year-old Indian will meet South Korean Lee Hyun II, who stunned South Korean top seed Son Wan Ho 25-23, 18-21, 21-17 in an hour and 32 minutes.

It will be Srikanth's fourth final this Superseries badminton season. He won the titles in the Australian Open and Indonesian Open. He finished runner-up to compatriot B. Sai Praneeth in the Singapore Open final.

In the match against Vincent, Srikanth was in complete control. In the first game, he and Vincent shared the first 10 points but afterwards, the Indian stepped up and played aggressive badminton.

A six-point advantage at the mid-game break put him in a comfortable position and even though the Hong Kong shuttler improved his show, Srikanth won the first game 21-18.

The second game was much more competitive and Vincent fought hard. Srikanth took a 4-1 lead but Vincent equalised 4-4. The Indian then again grabbed the lead but Vincent hit back, equalising at the nine-point mark.

Vincent held an 11-9 lead and after the break, Srikanth raised his level and pulled level at the 11-point mark and took the lead by a point. The see-saw battle continued till the 15-point mark when Vincent equalised.

Afterwards, Srikanth came out with some incredible smashes to run away with the game 21-17 to reach the final.

Meanwhile, Japanese fourth seed Akane Yamaguchi and former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand will fight for the women's singles title.

Yamaguchi saw off rising Chinese star Chen Yufei 10-21, 21-18, 21-19 in an hour and five minutes.

Ratchanok got the better of world number 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei with a 21-14, 20-22, 21-14 triumph in an hour and four minutes.

--IANS

pur/pgh/