Former world number one Kidambi Srikanth reached his first final of the year at the US Open Badminton tournament in Fullerton, US, on Saturday. The 33-year-old beat Japan's fourth seed Yudai Okimoto 22-20, 15-21, 21-19 in an hour and 12 minutes.
Srikanth will face Chinese Taipei's eighth seed Su Li Yang in the men's singles final. Su ended the run of India's Rounak Chouhan with a 21-17, 21-19 win in the other semifinal, while India's Devika Sihag lost in the women's singles semifinal.
Srikanth holds firm in tight contest
Srikanth saved a game point in the opening game after Okimoto had fought back from 11-17 down. He then won the next two points to take the lead, before the Japanese player forced a decider with a strong second game.
The final game followed a similar pattern. Srikanth
led 10-5, only for Okimoto to level at 12-12. The Indian then moved ahead 12-13, won six straight points, and later used his experience to change pace and close out the match.
Devika started well against second seed Line Christophersen of Denmark, but could not keep the advantage. She went down 15-21, 21-11, 21-15 in her semifinal, ending India's challenge in the women's singles draw.
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