Syed Modi: Merkle, Claerbout in All-French Final
Arnaud Merkle and Lucas Claerbout set up an all-French showdown in the men’s singles final of the Syed Modi India International 2022 in Lucknow on Saturday.
· BWF STAFF
This is the furthest either has gone at an HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament.
While 21-year-old Merkle beat home hope Mithun Manjunath 21-19 17-21 21-9, his 29-year-old compatriot Claerbout overcame Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in a tougher contest. Nguyen had won the opening game and was 15-13 in the third before Claerbout pulled ahead, clinching the match 15-21 21-18 21-15 in 84 minutes.
Women’s singles will see world No.7 Pusarla V Sindhu against younger compatriot Malvika Bansod. Pusarla’s semifinal opponent Evgeniya Kosetskaya retired after the first game, while Bansod beat Anupama Upadhyaya in three games.