Prannoy, Nehwal crowned national Badminton champions
HS PRANNOY and Saina Nehwal were crowned India’s national Badminton champions, after the country’s top titans clashed in the hotly-contested finals of the 82nd Senior National Badminton Championships on Wednesday.
World number 11 Prannoy faced off against Kidambi Srikanth in the men’s finals, beating the world number 2 after a hard-fought battle that lasted 49 minutes.
Srikanth, winner of three of the last four matches between the pair until Wednesday’s final, had gone into the tie as favourite to clinch the title. But Prannoy proved to be more than a match for the 24-year-old, beating him 21-15, 16-21, 21-7.
World number eleven Nehwal went head-to-head with number 2 PV Sindhu for the women’s title. There was practically nothing to choose between the pair, both two-time national champions.
Sindhu doggedly hung on after losing the first game, trying hard to force the second all the way to a golden-point decider, but Nehwal pulled out just that little bit extra to edge her out with a score of 21-17, 27-25 and add to her back-to-back national title success achieved in 2006 and 2007.
The capacity crowds packing Nagpur’s Divisional Sports Complex lapped up every bit of the action as India’s top shuttlers pulled out all the stops in a scintillating display of unbridled skill.
Among the spectators were the Honourable Chief Minister of Maharasthra Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Badminton Association of India President Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and Maharashtra Badminton Association President Mr. Arun Lakhani.
Score Line:
Mixed Doubles: Satwik Sairaj and Ashwini Ponnappa beat Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki Reddy: 21-9, 20-22, 21-17
Men’s Singles: H.S Prannoy beat K Srikant: 21-15, 16- 21, 21-7
Women’s Doubles: Sikki Reddy N and Ashwini Ponnappa beat Sanyogita Ghorpade and Prajakta Sawant: 21-14, 21-14
Men’s Doubles: Manu Attri and Sumit Reddy B. Beat Satwik Sai Raj R. and Chirag Shetty: 15-21, 22-20, 25-23
Women’s Single: Saina Nehwl beat P.V. Sindhu: 21-17, 27-25
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