In a display of sheer resilience and tactical brilliance, 20-year-old Indian shuttler Devika Sihag advanced to her first-ever BWF Super 300 final on Saturday. The unseeded world No. 63 pulled off a miraculous comeback against Chinese Taipei’s fifth seed Huang Yu-Hsun, winning 22-20, 21-13 in just 38 minutes at the Nimibutr Stadium.
The opening game appeared to be slipping away from Sihag as Huang built a commanding 20-15 lead, holding five game points. However, the young Indian rose like a phoenix, reeling off seven consecutive points to snatch the set.
The tactical shift: Sihag slowed down the pace, engaging Huang in long rallies and utilizing her height for deep smashes from the baseline.
The error trap: Frustrated by Sihag’s defense, Huang "drowned in a cesspool of unforced errors," hitting wide on consecutive points to surrender the game.
The second set dominance: Carrying a massive psychological edge, Sihag surged to an 11-5 lead at the interval and never looked back, sealing the match with a sharp cross-court smash.
After saving five game points in the opening game, I was thinking of playing positively, and it worked well for me... I was pushing her into rallies, and she was making mistakesDevika Sihag
By reaching the final, Sihag becomes only the fifth Indian woman to play a Super 300 summit clash, joining the elite company of Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Malvika Bansod, and Tanvi Sharma.
| Metric | Achievement |
|---|---|
| Current Ranking | World No. 63 |
| Tournament Seed | Unseeded |
| Sets Dropped in Bangkok | 0 |
| Biggest Scalp | Supanida Katethong (World No. 16, Top Seed) |
| Coach/Academy | Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence (PDCSE) |
Sihag will now face Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei in the final on Sunday. While Goh is a two-time World Junior Champion, Sihag enters the match with the momentum of a perfect week, having not dropped a single set throughout the tournament.