India’s Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto clinched their second Super 100 level title of the year, beating Chinese Taipei’s Sung Shuo Yun and Yu Chien Hui 21-13, 21-19 in the women’s doubles final in the Guwahati Masters badminton tournament here on Sunday.
Thailand’s Lalinrat Chaiwan and Indonesia’s Yohanes Saut Marcellyno bagged the women’s and men’s singles crowns with contrasting wins in the respective finals.
However, the focus for the local fans was on the women’s doubles as Ashwini and Tanisha were the only Indians to reach finals.
The second-seeded Indians, who had finished runners-up in the Syed Modi International Super 300 event last week, began the final with an aggressive intent as Tanisha prowled the net with aplomb as the local favourites took the opening game with ease.
It looked like Ashwini and Tanisha could race through the match when they opened up a 12-6 lead in the second game. But the Taipei pair clinched five straight points to close the gap to just one point and the Indians faced a few nervy moments thereafter.
To their credit, Ashwini and Tanisha did not lose patience and were prepared to wait for their opportunities. Tanisha found a winner with a smart net push to warn them a match point and the Abu Dhabi Masters champions wrapped things up on the very first opportunity.
Later speaking about the match, Ashwini admitted that the drift did affect when they tried to push the shuttle to the backcourt. “There were some nervous moments, but it was the support of the crowd that egged up on and I am happy that we handled the pressure well.”
This is the first time an international badminton event was being held in Assam since 2007 and the fans got behind the Indian combination during the 40-minute summit clash. The pair will now head to Bhubaneshwar for the Odisha Masters, hoping to consolidate their position in the world ranking with another strong showing to end the year on a high.
In the other matches, Thailand’s Lalinrat Chaiwan and Indonesia’s Yohanes Saut Marcellyno bagged the women’s and men’s singles crowns. Chaiwan upset fourth seed Line Christophersen of Denmark 21-14, 17-21, 21-16 in the women’s singles final before Marcellyno got the better of teammate Alvi Wijaya Chairullah 21-12, 21-17 in the men’s singles summit clash.
Second seeds Hee Yong Kai Terry and Tan Wei Han Jessica of Singapore clinched the mixed doubles title with a 21-19, 21-11 win over Mads Vestergaad and Christine Busch of Denmark while Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal of Malaysia bagged the men’s doubles crown with a 21-17, 23-21 win over Chinese Taipei’s Lin Bing-Wei and Su Ching Heng.
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