India will have a strong presence in the finals of the Odisha Masters, with Assam shuttler Isharani Baruah, women’s singles top seed Unnati Hooda and men’s singles second seed Kiran George advancing to the summit clashes after hard-fought semifinal victories at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Cuttack on Saturday.

Bringing cheer to Assam, Isharani booked her place in the women’s singles final with an impressive comeback win over Tanya Hemanth. After dropping the opening game 18-21, the 21-year-old from Dibrugarh dominated the next two games 21-7, 21-7 to seal the match in 54 minutes. She will face top seed Unnati Hooda in the final on Sunday.

Speaking after the match, Isharani said she is not putting pressure on herself ahead of the title clash.

“Of course, there are a few aches and pa

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