Guwahati: India’s’ Sanskar Saraswat clinched his maiden Super 100 title after eking out a three-game victory over compatriot Mithun Manjunath in the men’s singles final of the Guwahati Masters here on Sunday.
The 19-year-old from Jodhpur showcased grit and firepower while unleashing a barrage of smashes to outwit former national champion Manjunath 21-11, 17-21, 21-13 in an all-Indian final that lasted 50 minutes. However, Tanvi Sharma, a world junior championships silver medallist, registered a
runner-up finish in women’s singles after losing 18-21 18-21 to Tung Ciou-Tong of Chinese Taipei in the finals. The 16-year-old from Punjab had reached the semifinals at Syed Modi International Super 300 last week.
She had reached the Odisha Masters final last year and finished runner-up at this year’s US Open Super 300 and the World Junior Championships as well.
Indian men’s doubles pair of Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K also finished second best after losing 13-21 18-21 to Malaysia’s sixth seed Kang Khai Xing and Aaron Tai in a lop-sided final.
Saraswat, who trains at the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati, has been making rapid strides on the domestic circuit. He won his maiden senior national doubles title alongside Arsh Mohammad in Bengaluru last year and had earlier claimed a junior singles crown. The duo also finished runners-up in the under-19 event at the 31st Smit Krishna Khaitan Memorial Badminton Tournament in September last year.
Playing with his right leg heavily taped, Saraswat stayed marginally ahead at the outset before Manjunath clawed back to 7-7 in the opening game. While the rallies lacked prolonged exchanges, both players capitalised on each other’s errors.. Saraswat carried a slim 11-9 lead into the interval before stretching it to 14-10 with a burst of
attacking shots.