 dominate the badminton scene, emerging victorious at the Senior National Team Championship){kind=link}
Maharashtra and the Airport Authority of India (AAI) stamped their authority in the women’s and men’s team events of the Yonex-Sunrise 75th Inter State-Inter Zonal Badminton Championships 2023 on Tuesday at the RG Baruah Sports Complex in Guwahati.
After four years, the renowned national championships hosted by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) are being held in Assam.
The powerful AAI team competed in both the men’s and women’s team finals and won the former by defeating Karnataka 3-0.
Tharun Mannepalli launched AAI’s assault in the final with a 21-18, 21-18 victory over Bhargav Somasundara in the first singles encounter.
Maisnam Meiraba then extended the lead by defeating Raghu Mariswamy in the second singles match, which lasted nearly an hour, 22-20, 16-21, 21-11. Later, AAI’s men’s doubles combo of Alap Mishra and Ravikrishna capped things off in style, defeating Prakash Raj and Ashit Surya 21-11, 16-21, 21-19.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra defeated AAI 3-0 in the women’s team event final, led by Shruti Mundada, Alisha Naik, and the doubles duo of Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker.
Mundada began the day for Maharashtra with a hard-fought triumph over Tanya Hemanth in the first singles match, which lasted an hour and 23 minutes.
The second match was as heated, but Naik rebounded quickly after dropping the second set to defeat Mansi Singh 21-18, 12-21, 21-19. Singhi and Thaker then required just 42 minutes to secure Maharashtra’s top spot on the podium, easily defeating Tanya Hemanth and Priya Devi Konjengbam with scores of 21-14, 21-18.
Individual competitions will begin on Wednesday, with shuttlers such as BWF World Championships bronze medalist Lakshya Sen, veteran Sameer Verma, Aakarshi Kashyap, local favourite Ashmita Chaliha, and many more competing for the coveted titles. The finals will take place on Sunday.
Featured Image:The Hindu