-Olympics
Anmol Kharb, 16, won the women’s singles title at the National Badminton Championships 2023 at the RG Baruah Sports Complex in Guwahati on Sunday.
The teenager lost the first game of the final to Tanvi Sharma but fought back to level the score. She was leading in the decider when Tanvi retired with an injury. Anmol was leading 15-21, 21-17, 16-8 after over one hour of intense badminton.
Anmol Kharb is the No. 1 in U-19 and U-17 in the Badminton Association of India (BAI) rankings.
Meanwhile, the men’s singles title clash saw an upset as the unseeded Chirag Sen secured the national title after defeating fourth-seed Tharun M by a 21-14, 13-21, 21-9 scoreline.
Tharun, No. 2 in the BAI rankings, conceded the first game but drew level. But Chirag made a fantastic comeback in the decider, with clever strokes at the right moments.
In the mixed doubles summit clash, recently crowned Odisha Masters champions Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto dominated from the start and comfortably defeated the sixth-seeded duo of Nitin Kumar-Navdha Manglam 21-13, 21-8 in 25 minutes to claim their maiden national title.
Priya Devi Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra lifted the women’s doubles title with a superb come-from-behind 11-21, 21-14, 21-18 win over Ritika Thaker-Simran Singh. Coming into the final as favourites, Ritika-Simran started well but Priya and Shruti kept their calm even after being 10-15 down in the decider at one point and outperformed the fifth seeds in the next two games.
The men’s doubles final was an edge-of-the-seat thriller where K Pruthvi Roy-Suraj Goala caused an upset by defeating Krishna Prasad Garaga-Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala 20-22, 24-22, 21-14.
Pruthvi and Suraj conceded a very closely-fought opening game but mounted an excellent challenge in the next couple of games to defeat the experienced top seeds.
National Badminton Championships 2023 winners
Men’s singles: Chirag Sen
Women’s singles: Anmol Kharb
Men’s doubles: K Pruthvi Roy-Suraj Goala
Women’s doubles: Priya Devi Konjengbam-Shruti Mishra
Mixed doubles: Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto
Featured Image: The Bridge