Guwahati Masters

Guwahati, December 8 (IANS) The Indian badminton spectators were treated to an exciting display as women’s doubles top seeds Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, along with men’s singles third seed Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, claimed victory in their respective categories at the Guwahati Masters Super 100 on Sunday.

Ashwini and Tanisha, the sole champions returning to defend their title, triumphed over the Chinese duo of Li Hua Zhou and Wang Zi Meng with scores of 21-18, 21-12 in a final lasting 43 minutes, securing the prestigious title without losing a single game.

In the concluding match of the day, Sathish Kumar clinched his second Super 100 title, defeating Zhu Xuan Chen from China with a scoreline of 21-17, 21-14. The 23-year-old had previously won the Odisha Masters Super 100 title last year and is now heading to Bhubaneshwar with great confidence.

This year’s event marked the second edition of the competition, co-organised by the Badminton Association of India and Assam Badminton Association, aimed at offering crucial exposure to emerging Indian players.

India had the opportunity to secure three titles on the final day; however, promising talent Anmol Kharb was unable to maintain her lead during the final, losing to China’s Cai Yan Yan with scores of 14-21, 21-13, 21-19.

Both India and China ended the tournament with two titles each, while the Malaysian pair of Chia Weijie and Lwi Sheng Hao took home the men’s doubles title.

Results:

Women’s Singles: Anmol Kharb (IND) lost to Cai Yan Yan (CHN) 21-14, 13-21, 19-21

Women’s Doubles: Ashwini Ponnappa/Tanisha Crasto (IND) bt Li Hua Zhou/Wang Zi Meng (CHN) 21-18, 21-12.

Men’s Singles: Sathish Kumar Karunakaran (IND) bt Zhu Xuan Chen (CHN) 21-17, 21-14

Men’s Doubles: Chia Weijie/Lwi Sheng Hao (MAS) bt Huang Di/Liu Yang (CHN)

20-22, 21-15, 21-17

Mixed Doubles: Zhang Han Yu/Bao Li Jing (CHN) bt Rory Easton/Lizzie Tolman (ENG)

21-15, 21-16