Bangkok: Indian shuttler K Srikanth entered the final of the Thailand Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament after registering a comfortable straight-game victory over local favourite Thammasin Sitthikom in the men's singles event here on Saturday.
Srikanth, seeded 13th, took 43 minutes to overcome his opponent 21-14 21-18 at the Nimitbutr National Stadium here.
He will take on the winner of the other semi-final match between Boonsak Ponsana and Wisnu Yuli Prasetyo.
In the first game, World no. 61 Srikanth opened up a slender 6-2 lead but Sitthikom soon caught up with the Indian to make it 6-7.
The 20-year-old then registered eight consecutive points to surge ahead 15-6. He kept on widening the gap to make it 20-7.
But just a point away from sealing off the opening game, the Thai bagged seven points on the trot to reduce the gap to 14-20. However, in the end, Srikanth pocketed the game comfortably.
Sitthikom came back strongly in the second game and turned the heat on Srikanth. Despite the Indian getting off to a good start with a 5-1 lead, the local shuttler fought his way back, and the two were tied at 7-7.
Thereafter, it was a neck-and-neck contest till 17-17 before Srikanth managed to win three straight points to move ahead 20-17.
Sitthikom could win another point before the Indian shut the door on the Thai.
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