November 3, 2024 9:39 AM.
India’s Malvika Bansod stormed into the final of the Hylo Open badminton tournament’s women’s singles competition with a stunning 23-21, 21-18 win over Danish shuttler Julie Dawall Jakobsen in the semi-finals yesterday.
In the first game, world No. 34 Malvika Bansod, seeded sixth, found herself trailing 13-7 against Julie Dawall Jakobsen, who is 38th in the badminton rankings and eighth seed. The 23-year-old Malvika, however, fought back with purpose to edge out her opponent, three years her senior, to take the lead.
The second game saw Malvika take the attack to Jakobsen from the get go and build up a 15-7 lead before the Dane mounted a comeback to level the score at 17-all. Just when it seemed the match may be heading into a decider, Malvika found an extra gear at the crucial juncture to wrap up the contest in 44 minutes.
Now, Malvika will face another Danish woman, seventh seed Mia Blichfeldt, in the title clash today. It will be Malvika’s second-ever final appearance on the BWF World Tour after finishing runners-up to PV Sindhu in the Syed Modi International 2022 BWF Super 300 event.