Commonwealth Games gold medallist enteꦯrs third round with a facile win over Sidarth T; Aakarshi Kashyap slugs it out against Rituparna Da🍒s
Tournament top seeds Lakshya Sen and Aakarshi Kashyap triumphed in their respective men’s and women’s singles matches during the second round of the Yonex-Sunrise 85th Senior National Badminton Championships at R. G. Baruah Sports Complex in Guwahati on Thursday. (More Badminton News)
The prestigious national🐈 championships, organized by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) in Assam afꦡter four years, are being held from December 20-24.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sen swiftly defeated Sidarth T with scores of 21-8, 21-5. Initially cautious in the first game, the players fought for each ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚpoint until they reached a tie at 5-5. Sen then accelerated to secure the first game at 21-8. Reading his opponent well, Sen do💫minated the second game with a 21-5 victory, completing the rout in just 25 minutes.
BWF 2023 World Junior Championships bronze me🅠dallist Ayush Shetty faced a tough challenge from Neer Nehwal but emerged victorious with a 23-25, 21-18, 21-12 scoreline. He is set to take on seventh-seeded Alap Mishra in the n꧃ext round.
In the women’s singles category, Aakarshi Kashyap, the 22-year-old tournament top seed, encountered a tough match against Rituparna Das. Ranked 40th globally, Kashyap overcame a stiff challenge in the first game before closing the match with a 21-18, 21-11 scoreline in 32 minutes. She is scheduꦦled to play Aruna Prabhudesai in a fourth-round encounter.
Second-seeded Ashmita Chaliha, a home fꦍavorite in the women’s singles, defeated her state-mate Suzen Burhagohain with a score of 21-13, 21-10 in the second round. ✤Chaliha, ranked 12th by BAI, is set to face Delhi’s Rishika Nandi in the fourth round.
Another Assamese player, Isharani Baruah, fought back from a game down to defeat Shriyanshi Pardeshi of the Railways. Baruah, ranked 6th🍃 by BAI, lost the first game🅰 20-22 but rallied to win the next two games 21-10, 22-20, advancing to the third round.
Unnati Hooda, the 2023 Abu Dhabi Mast♈ers champion, triumphed over Manisha Rani Tirkey of Jharkhand with a 21-11, 21-17 victory, setting up a third-round clash with Tanvi Sharma. Sharma, the silver medallist in Badminton Asia’s U17 and U15 Junior Championships in 2023, faced a tough match against Shreya Lele, ultimately securing victory with scores of 21-18, 22-24, 21-13 in a 56-minute battle.
Defending champion﷽ and former Junior World No. 1 Anupama Upadhyaya defeated Taneesha Singh with scores of 21-5, 21-12, maintaining her quest to regain the crown.
In the mixed doubles, the pair of Dhruv Kapila and Taওnisha Crasto cruised to a 21-5, 21-14 win over Abdul Rahman Syed and Mamaikya Lanka𓆏. The duo is set to face Chayanit Joshi and Kavya Gupta in the pre-quarter-finals.