Srikanth sails into Denmark Open final

odense : Kidambi Srikanth stands one step away from his third Super Series title after he dished out a superlative performance to outwit Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki Vincent in straight games to reach the Denmark Open final.
The 25-year-old Indian, who clinched the Indonesia Open and Australian Open this year besides reaching the final of the Singapore Open, defeated Wong 21-18 21-17.
The 24-year-old Indian will meet South Korean Lee Hyun II who stunned top seed Son Wan Ho 25-23 18-21 21-17. A 2-2 head-to-head record in career meetings — all of them going to the decider — meant nothing as Srikanth towered over Wong, showing better control and anticipation in the 39-minute semifinal match.
“I feel great. I really wanted to do well. Our game is similar but I was more patient and though I made some errors initially I learnt quickly. Next is Lee whom I have not played and I think he will be a tricky player to beat,” Srikanth said.
Srikanth and Wong split the initial six points before the Indian moved ahead with his rival struggling with his shots. Srikanth eventually had a healthy 11-6 lead after dominating a net exchange.
Wong made it 10-13 after the interval but Srikanth showed better anticipation to lead 15-10. A body smash helped Wong to make it 12-15 and then 15-18 but Srikanth managed to control the rallies. The Guntur shuttler went into game point when Wong’s return got buried in the net. Srikanth made a net error before pushing the shuttle to the back of the court as an out of position Wong sent it sailing wide.
In the second game, Srikanth zoomed to a 4-0 lead but a few unforced errors at the net helped Wong to make it 4-3 in his favour. The Indian again surged to 7-5 lead when Wong served out.
Srikanth dived and then smashed to grab a point to make it 8-6. However, Wong managed to surpass the Indian and pocket a 11-9 lead at the break. After the break, Srikanth reeled off three straight points to lead 14-12 with Wong committing two unforced errors.