KUALA LUMPUR — National women’s singles shuttler K. Letshanaa has no qualms about making tough choices, like missing Deepavali celebrations, as her career comes first.
The 21-year-old’s sacrifice paid off today as she reached her first-ever Super 100 final with a stunning 21-18, 21-19 upset over second seed Liang Ting Yu of Chinese Taipei in the semi-finals of the Indonesia Masters II in Surabaya.
Letshanaa, who previously claimed her biggest win at the 2023 Ugandan International, will now face Indonesia’s Ni Kadek Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi in the final tomorrow. Pratiwi overcame Hong Kong’s Saloni Samirbhai Mehta 12-21, 21-11, 21-18 in her semi-final match.
“I’m thrilled to make it to my first Super 100 Tour final after all these years in badminton. The sacrifices have truly been worth it,” Letshanaa told Scoop.
“Of course, it’s a bit sad to miss Deepavali at home, but I have to prioritise my career. I’m determined to win tomorrow, which would make it perfect – I could celebrate Deepavali with my family and a title,” she added.
Letshanaa also shared how she limits her social media usage to maintain focus on her performance.
“I try to restrict my time on social media so I don’t lose concentration. I only re-share posts from others, but otherwise, I avoid reading too much about what people are saying,” she explained.
It was a successful day for Malaysia, with former Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) men’s singles shuttler Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin also advancing to the final. He defeated Indonesian Yohanes Saut Marcellyno 21-19, 21-23, 21-16 in a hard-fought semi-final.
Aidil will go up against last year’s world junior champion, Alwi Farhan of Indonesia, in the final. Alwi secured his spot by defeating his compatriot Prahdiska Bagas Shujiwo 21-9, 21-17 in the other semi-final. — November 2, 2024