Cuttack, Dec 17: The sensational duo of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila clinched the Mixed Doubles title here at the Odisha Masters 2023 being held at JN Indoor Stadium. In the first final of the day, Indian duo Tanisha Crasto-Dhruv Kapila were up against Singapore’s Hee Yong Kai Terry and Tan Wei Han Jessica. In the first game, the Indian pair started aggressively but the pair from Singapore fought back hard to keep the scores tied. At the interval, Hee Yong Kai Terry and Tan Wei Han Jessica took an 11-9 lead. With Dhruv and Tanisha finding their rhythm back, they brought the game to 16-16 before the pair from Singapore quickly took the lead putting the Indians on the backfoot and closing the first game 21-17. In the second game, both teams were involved in long rallies as the Indian duo took an 11-9 lead at the interval. Tanisha-Dhruv marched ahead to a 15-11 lead before they won the second game 21-19 and took the match into the decider. Mohammed Shami Nominated for Arjuna Award, Badminton Doubles Pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty For Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Honour.

In the decider, the Indian pair continued their momentum and started putting pressure on the pair from Singapore. But the pair from Singapore fought their way back and took an 11-9 lead at the interval. After the change of sides, the Indian pair started dominating before winning the game 23-21 and clinching the Mixed Doubles title. Meanwhile, in the Women’s Double final, the Indian duo of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto went down to the Indonesian pair of Meilysa Trias Puspitasari and Rachel Allessya Rose by 21-14 and 21-17.

In the first game, both teams put their best foot forward with Tanisha dominating at the net and Ashwini showing her experience. The Indonesian pair put up a strong fight and at the interval, the score was 11-8 in favour of Indonesia. After the change of sides, the pair from Indonesia took a 19-15 lead and took the first game 21-14. 'As My Shuttle Soared at 565 Kmph...’ Star Shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy Shares Heartwarming Video of Father Unboxing His Guinness World Record for Fastest Hit by a Male Player in Badminton.

In the second game, the Indian duo started feeling the pressure following which they gave away points easily to the pair from Indonesia. Meilysa Trias Puspitasari and Rachel Allessya Rose took a 6-1 lead and put the Indian pair on the back foot. But the Indian pair found their rhythm back and started putting pressure on the Indonesian pair. At the interval, the score was 11-8 in favour of Indonesia. The pair from Indonesia then won the second game 21-17 to lift the title. In the Men’s Singles Final match, Satish Kumar Karunakaran defeated Ayush Shetty 21-18, 19-21 and 21-14 to win the title. Coming into this tournament, Sathish had a good season with Men’s Singles title wins at India International and a runner-up finish at Maldives International.

In the Men’s Doubles Final, Lin Bing-Wei and Su Ching Heng of Chinese Taipei beat Krishna Prasad Garaga and Sai Pratheek K 22-20, 18-21 and 21-17. Meanwhile, in the Women’s Singles Final, former World No 1 Nozomi Okuhara staged an epic comeback and beat Hong Kong China’s Lo Sin Yan Happy to lift the title with a score of 21-7, 21-23 and 22-20.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 17, 2023 09:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).