Pradnya-Sikki pair wins Polish Open badminton title

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The unseeded Indian duo of Pradnya (Nashik, Maharashtra) and Sikki (Andhra Pradesh) shocked fourth seeds Canadian pair Alex Bruce and Phyllis Chan 21-16, 21-18 in just 29 minutes.

This is the maiden international title for India's new women's doubles pair. Earlier both the players were playing with different partners. It was a dream week for Pradnya-Sikki, world No. 49.

They knocked out two seeded pairs including the No. 3 seeds Ekaterina Bolotova and Evgeniya Kosetskaya of Russia in a grueling second round encounter.

In the semifinal played on Friday, the Indian combination was tested to the limit by the Chinese Taipei pair. Overcoming the mid-match slump, the Indians won 21-19, 11-21, 21-14 in nearly an hour.

In the summit clash against the Canada girls, both Pradnya and Sikki, students of Pullela Gopichand Academy, displayed wonderful all-round game to fox their opponents. They used their height to good advantage and came up with several powerful smashes to surprise their rivals.

The 24-year-old Pradnya and Akshay Dewalkar will take on Malaysia's Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh in the mixed doubles final later in the night.

In the mixed doubles semifinal played on Friday, the Maharashtrian pair of Pradnya and Akshay Dewalkar outclassed Vasily Kuznetsov and Victoria Slobodjanuk of Russia. In a match lasted for just 22 minutes, the unseeded Indians won 21-11, 21-14 to storm into the final.

Akshay and Pradnya struggled to beat Chinese Taipei's Lin Chia Yu and Wu Ti Jung 21-17, 23-21 in the quarterfinal.

Pradnya-Sikki on way to title

Round 1: Pradnya Gadre-Sikki Reddy bt Maria Shegurova-Viktoriia Vorobeva (RUS) 21-15, 21-14. Round 2: Pradnya Gadre-Sikki Reddy bt 3-Ekaterina Bolotova-Evgeniya Kosetskaya (RUS) 22-20, 27-25. Semifinal: Pradnya Gadre-Sikki Reddy bt Hsieh Pei Chen-Wu Ti Jung (TPE) 21-19, 11-21, 21-14. Final: Pradnya Gadre-Sikki Reddy bt 4-Alex Bruce-Phyllis Chan (CAN) 21-16, 21-18.