Lucknow: Two-time Olympic medalists PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen continued their excellent performance and reached the finals of women's and men's singles respectively of the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament on Saturday. Top seed Sindhu defeated Unnati 21-12, 21-9 in just 36 minutes in the first semi-final of women's singles. Lakshya defeated Japan's Shogo Ogawa 21-8, 21-14 in 42 minutes. Unnati had to struggle in front of Sindhu's strong game and she made many mistakes due to which her strong opponent maintained control throughout the match.

Sindhu said after the match, 'I am happy with my performance today. I maintained the lead from the beginning. I tried some strokes and overall I was confident about the way I played. I think Unnati played her best but I did not give her any chance. I maintained the lead from start to finish. She is a rising player and I wish her all the best. Now I have to focus on preparing for tomorrow because it will not be an easy match. I have to give my best from start to finish.'

Sindhu would like to win the third title.e

Sindhu, who is aiming for her third title here, will next face Luo Yu Wu. The Chinese player defeated Thailand's Lalinrat Chaiwan in the other semifinal. On the other hand, Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya will face Singapore's Jia Heng Jason Teh in the final.

Earlier, the Indian mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila made it to the finals by registering a straight-gameme win over the Chinese pair of Zhi Hong Zhou and Jia Yi Yang. The fifth-seeded Indian pair defeated the fourth-seeded Chinese pair 21-16, 21-15 in a semi-final that lasted 42 minutes. They will next face China's Pin Yi Liao. Theyy will face the winner of the second semi-final between Ke Xin Huang and the sixth-seeded pair of Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supisara Paevsampran.

Sindhu maintained her dominance throughout the match.

Sindhu took a 5-3 lead early in the semi-final match. After this, 17-year-old Unnati scored some good points but she could not stop Sindhu from taking an 11–8 lead by the interval. Sindhu then went ahead 15–8 and then easily won the first game. The story did not change in the second game as well and Sindhu maintained her dominance by playing aggressively. She ensured her easy victory by takingana 11–4 lead by the interval. Unnati was able to save only one of the 12 match points and due to another mistake, she handed the match to Sindhu.