Strong contender Sankar Muthuswamy of Tamil Nadu reached the men’s singles final without having to work hard as Ayush Shetty of Karnataka retired midway through the first set (11-8) in the 77th South Zone inter-State badminton (individual) championship at the RAK’s Badminton Academy courts here on August 13.
Shankar was made to wait on court for close to 15 minutes as Shetty took his own sweet time to reach the venue. But, when the battle began, the former played to his strengths to race to a 11-8 lead. At this juncture, Shetty, who looked a shade below his best, threw in the towel.
Sankar will now take on P. Saahas Kumar of Telangana, who got the better of T. Sidarth of Tamil Nadu 21-16, 21-7.
