Sindhu, Srikanth win national badminton titles
25 Dec 2013 5:25 AM IST
World Championship bronze medallist Sindhu won her second national title after 2011 while it is a first for Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold winner Srikanth.
Defending mixed doubles champions Aparna Balan and Arun Vishnu retained their crown while Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa regained the women’s doubles crown for the first time since 2009. Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar won their maiden men’s doubles title.
Meanwhile, Kuhoo Garg and Chirag Sen became the youngest players to win a medal in the tournament when they defeated Pranaav Chopra and Maneesha K in mixed doubles semifinals. The unheralded pair clinched the bronze medal on their maiden appearance in the Nationals after their fancied rivals Pranaav Chopra and Maneesha conceded the match in the third game with the score reading 22-20 16-21 1-3. Kuhoo and Chirag suffered a 9-21 11-21 defeat to second seeds.
Saina to skip few tournaments in 2014 for fitness
MUMBAI: After a disappointing 2013 in which she failed to win a single title, suffered injuries and saw her world ranking taking a dip, star shuttler Saina Nehwal has decided to cut down on the number of tournaments next year to remain injury-free. ‘If I look back now I think I played a lot. Next year, I will make sure that I skip a few tournaments and focus on my fitness and perform my best in a tournament,’ Saina said. I am coming back to my good (level). I am feeling quite fit. ‘It might take one more month to come back, to the best of my fitness,’ said Saina on Monday.
Defending mixed doubles champions Aparna Balan and Arun Vishnu retained their crown while Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa regained the women’s doubles crown for the first time since 2009. Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar won their maiden men’s doubles title.
Meanwhile, Kuhoo Garg and Chirag Sen became the youngest players to win a medal in the tournament when they defeated Pranaav Chopra and Maneesha K in mixed doubles semifinals. The unheralded pair clinched the bronze medal on their maiden appearance in the Nationals after their fancied rivals Pranaav Chopra and Maneesha conceded the match in the third game with the score reading 22-20 16-21 1-3. Kuhoo and Chirag suffered a 9-21 11-21 defeat to second seeds.
Saina to skip few tournaments in 2014 for fitness
MUMBAI: After a disappointing 2013 in which she failed to win a single title, suffered injuries and saw her world ranking taking a dip, star shuttler Saina Nehwal has decided to cut down on the number of tournaments next year to remain injury-free. ‘If I look back now I think I played a lot. Next year, I will make sure that I skip a few tournaments and focus on my fitness and perform my best in a tournament,’ Saina said. I am coming back to my good (level). I am feeling quite fit. ‘It might take one more month to come back, to the best of my fitness,’ said Saina on Monday.
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