Akbar & Winny Reign the Throne at BWF Hyderabad Open 2018 Finals

Sixth seed Akbar Bintang Cahyono/Winny Oktavina Kandow of Indonesia defeated top seeds Pranaav Jerry Chopra/Sikki Reddy of India in the gallant finals with 15-21, 21-19, 23-25 at the BWF Super 100 Hyderabad Open 2018 on Sunday at the G.M.C Balayogi SATS Indoor Stadium, Gachibowli, Hyderabad.

In the opener trailing from 3-0, Pranaav/Sikki pair rallied to a 11-6 lead in just 6 minutes by the breather. Indians favoured with two points from Cahyono/Oktavina unforced errors before India losing four points from serial unforced errors.

Unlike in previous matches, lanky Pranaav excelled well with the smash hits and clear shots as the southpaw Sikki managed the net plays; closed the game in just 13 minutes.

After switching the sides, Pranaav/Sikki cruised to a 5-2 lead as the Indonesian pair distracted and baffled by spectators cheer. Due to jolted flare created by the spectators, Cahyono/Oktavina pair tried to focus and eventually trailed with just 3 points by the half-time with 8-11.

Too many unforced errors near the net leading the Indonesian pair to trail with the huge disappointed gap of 17-12, yet unflinched; reached the deficit with 18-18, before pushing the match with the smash in style with 21-19.

In the decider, stout-hearted Indonesians grabbed early point with 1-0. Pranaav/Sikki pair pushed the opponents towards the corner to their favour, before the latter recovers by 5-2.

Gradually gaining the boost from the Indonesian crowd, the players tried levelling the score with 5-6 and could score just two points by the half-time trailing with 7-11.

India’s top Mixed Doubles pair, cruised to a 19-14 lead in the agitated aura at the G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium, before Cahyono/Oktavina pair could reduce the shortfall to 17-19.

The spectators went frenzy as the score is dragged to 23-23, and the match goes into Indonesians kitty with 23-25 win.

Akbar vented out with aggressive screams the moment after defeating the Indians in front of their home-crowd.