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Chirag Sen emerged as the surprise winner in men's singles category at the 85th Senior National Badminton Championships on Sunday, December 24. The finals day witnessed a thrilling set of matches that showcased the remarkable talent of the nation's upcoming shuttlers.
One of the standout moments of the championships was the emergence of 16-year-old Anmol Kharb, who secured the women’s singles title. She thus became one of the youngest women's singles winners.
In the men's singles final, unseeded Chirag Sen pulled off a stunning upset by clinching the national title against fourth-seeded Tharun M of Telangana.
Dhruv Kalpila and Tanisha Crasto clinched the mixed doubles title, while Priya Devi Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra; and K Pruthvi Roy and Suraj Goala won the women’s and men’s doubles crowns, respectively.
A closer look at the matches
In what was an extremely captivating final, Anmol Kharb faced stiff competition from another youngster, 15-year-old Tanvi Sharma. Despite being a game down after, Anmol's exceptional court coverage in the subsequent game helped her level the score.
The third game saw a rather unfortunate turn when Tanvi, trailing 8-16, raised injury concerns, ultimately conceding, leading to Anmol taking the national title. The final scoreboard of the match read 15-21, 21-17, 16-8 (rtd.) in Anmol’s favor.
In the men’s singles final, National Games winner Tharun M. took on Chirag Sen. The highly anticipated final went the distance, with Chirag taking the first game 21-14.
Tharun displayed resilience, bouncing back to take the second game. However, Chirag, who was being advised by his father and coach, in addition to his brother Lakshya Sen, managed to find his rhythm once again. He dominated the decider, taking the match with a final score of 21-14, 13-21, 21-9.
The mixed doubles summit clash turned out to be an easy encounter for Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto. The duo defeated the sixth-seeded pair of Nitin Kumar and Navdha Manglam in just 25 minutes to secure their maiden national title with a convincing 21-13, 21-8 scoreline.
The women's doubles final saw Priya Devi Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra stage a remarkable comeback in a match that went all the way to three games.
Facing Maharashtra's Ritika Thaker and Simran Singhi, Priya and Shruti remained composed after being 10-15 down in the final game. They ultimately clinched the title with an 11-21, 21-14, 21-18 victory in a thrilling hour-and-11-minute contest.
The men's doubles final proved to be another nail-biting affair. The duo of K. Pruthvi Roy and Suraj Goala caused an upset against the experienced top-seeded pair of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala.
In the closely contested battle, Pruthvi and Suraj emerged victorious with a final score of 20-22, 24-22, 21-14.
85th Senior National Badminton Championships 2023 final results:
Men's Singles (MS) final:
Chirag Sen vs. Tharun M.
Result: 21-14, 13-21, 21-9.
Women’s Singles (WS) final:
Anmol Kharb vs. Tanvi Sharma
Result: 15-21, 21-17, 16-8 (rtd)
Men’s Doubles (MD) final:
Prathvi Roy/Suraj Goala vs. Krishna Prasad G./Vishnuvardhan Goud P.
Result: 20-22, 24-22, 21-14
Women’s Doubles (WD) final:
Priya Devi Konjengbam/Shruti Mishra vs. Simran Singhi/Ritika Thaker
Result: 11-21, 21-14, 21-18
Mixed Doubles (XD) final:
Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto vs. Nitin Kumar/Navdha Manglam
Result: 21-13, 21-8
