Bank of Scotland International Badminton Championships - Anand Pawar in the finals

Anand Pawar knew he wasn’t in for a lazy Saturday but he would have liked the day to be a little easier. Both his matches at the Bank of Scotland International Badminton Championships went the distance but he eventually he came out on top.

In his quarterfinal match Anand got the better of 3rd seed Carl Baxter in grueling match that went down to the wire. Anand won 21-19 16-21 22-20.

He had only 3 hours of rest before his semi-final match against 8th seed Peter Mikkelsen of Denmark. This one too went the distance as Anand had to dig deep after losing the first game. Anand eventually triumphed 17-21 21-17 21-18.

Anand now takes on 21 year old Englishman and 5th seed Rajiv Ouseph. Rajiv has had a memorable tournament getting the better of the tournament 2nd seed, Finnish Ville Lang in the quarters. Though Anand would be a slight favourite to win considering current form and experience. Anand recently won the Yonex Hungarian International Championhips 2008, one of 3 victories on tour this year.