3 min learnUp to date: Jan 31, 2026 11:52 PM IST
Younger Indian shuttler Devika Sihag continued her high-quality run on the Thailand Masters and defeated World quantity 35 Huang Yu-Hsun to enter her maiden Tremendous 300 closing on Saturday. That is her second large win after she shocked top-seed and world quantity 16 Supanida Katethong within the quarterfinal on Friday.
The 20-year-old unseeded Indian, who claimed her maiden BWF Worldwide Problem title on the Malaysia Worldwide final yr, registered a 22-20, 21-13 win over the fifth-seeded Huang within the girls’s singles semifinal.
Earlier than dealing with Huang, whom she was dealing with for the primary time, Devika had mentioned she must be ‘extra good at my defence in addition to have the ability to assault’. She began properly, sticking to the plan towards her higher-ranked opponent, however made a couple of unforced errors, giving Huang a lead of 18-14. After Huang took two factors and made it 20-15 in her favour, it seemed like Devika was down and out. Nonetheless, she saved 5 sport factors to seal the opener and continued the momentum within the second sport.
The Taiwanese shuttler got here below stress as soon as Devika began saving sport factors, and at 20-21, smashed one extensive handy the Indian the primary sport. “After saving the 5 sport factors within the opening sport, I used to be considering of enjoying positively, and it labored properly for me. I used to be pushing her into rallies, and she or he was making errors, which gave me confidence for the remainder of the match,” Devika mentioned after her win.
Within the second sport, regardless of making some unforced errors early on, Devika managed to open up a lead of 8-5 and by no means gave her opponent an opportunity to come back again. She engaged her in lengthy rallies and fed off the errors made by the Taiwanese shuttler. Devika sealed the second sport with a smash, organising the summit conflict towards Goh Jin Wei of Malaysia.
“It’s my first Tremendous 300 closing, so I’m excited and joyful. However on the identical time, I need to stay focussed in order that I can provide my finest in tomorrow’s match as it’s the closing. So I simply need to give my all and hope I’ll win the match,” Devika mentioned.
At present ranked quantity 63 on this planet, she carries the unpredictability and explosiveness of a typical attacking participant, however a lot work has gone into her coaching by Indonesian Irwansyah, Vimal Kumar and Sagar Chopda.
© The Indian Categorical Pvt Ltd