In the women’s doubles, top seeds Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, along with men’s singles third seed Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, brought immense joy to Indian supporters by triumphing in their respective finals, securing the Guwahati Masters Super 100 titles in Guwahati on Sunday.Ashwini and Tanisha, the sole defending champions to uphold their title, overcame China’s […]
In the women’s doubles, top seeds Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, along with men’s singles third seed Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, brought immense joy to Indian supporters by triumphing in their respective finals, securing the Guwahati Masters Super 100 titles in Guwahati on Sunday.
Ashwini and Tanisha, the sole defending champions to uphold their title, overcame China’s Li Hua Zhou and Wang Zi Meng with scores of 21-18, 21-12, capturing the prestigious title without conceding a game.
The duo of Ashwini and Tanisha didn’t perform well at the Paris Olympics this year, losing all three of their matches in the group stage. However, in Guwahati on Sunday, they faced no difficulties against the Chinese team, winning convincingly in 43 minutes.
After experiencing some challenges in the opening game, they surged towards match point in the second game, eventually securing victory when Ashwini executed a forehand shot that the opponent couldn’t keep in bounds.
This victory was significant for the World No. 16 pair, as Tanisha, who Ashwini has praised in the past, became emotional on the court before joining the celebrations with her partner.
Meanwhile, Sathish Kumar celebrated a second Super 100 title in his collection, achieving a 21-17, 21-14 win against Zhu Xuan Chen from China. The 23-year-old previously claimed the Odisha Masters Super 100 title last year and will head to Bhubaneshwar with newfound confidence.
On the other hand, Anmol Kharb was left with a runners-up finish after suffering defeat in the women’s singles final against China’s Cai Yan Yan. The 17-year-old Indian, who played a crucial role in India’s historic gold medal at the 2024 Badminton Asia Team Championships, was unable to maintain her winning form, losing 14-21, 21-13, 21-19 in 1 hour 18 minutes.
The match was a rollercoaster, and Anmol put forth tremendous effort in the final game. At one point it was tied at 19-19, but she was quite fatigued and couldn’t muster the strength needed as her Chinese opponent executed a smash down the line to lead 20-19.
