Guwahati Masters: Anmol Kharb, Sathish Kumar, Ashwini-Tanisha in finals as India set to dominate

Guwahati (The Uttam Hindu): Up-and-coming women’s singles player Anmol Kharb, men’s singles third seed Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and women’s doubles defending champions Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto registered contrasting wins to reach the final in their respective sections as hosts India will fight for three titles on the final day of the Guwahati Masters Super 100 badminton tournament here.

On Saturday, the Indian players came up with their best efforts in the semifinals and presented the hosts with an opportunity to dominate the final day on Sunday.

In the all-Indian women’s singles semifinal, Anmol defeated Mansi Singh 21-19, 21-17 in just 40 minutes while Sathish Kumar ended the day with a come-from-behind 13-21, 21-14, 21-16 win over sixth seed Wang Zheng Xing of China.

In the women’s doubles semifinals, top seeds Ashwini and Tanisha cruised through to a 21-14, 21-14 win over Keng Shu Liang and Wang Ting Ge of China. They will face another Chinese combination of Li Hua Zhou and Wang Zi Meng as they aim to become the only champions from the first edition to retain the title.

This is the second edition of the competition, organised jointly by the Badminton Association of India and Assam Badminton Association with the view of providing international exposure and some much-needed top-notch competition for the young Indian shuttlers at home.

Anmol and Sathish Kumar underlined the importance of such events by making the most of the home support to reach the finals. The 17-year-old Anmol, who has already won two international titles this year, will now face Chinese qualifier Cai Yan Yan aiming for the first Super 100 title of her fledgling career.

In the men’s singles final, Sathish Kumar will look to add another Super 100 title to his trophy cabinet. The 23-year-old, who won the Odisha Masters Super 100 last year, will face another Chinese qualifier, Zhu Xuan Chen.

The mixed doubles final will witness a clash between China’s Zhang Han Yu and Bao Li Jing against Rory Easton and Lizzie Tolman of England while China’s Huang Di and Liu Yang will take on Chia Weijie and Lwi Sheng Hao of Malaysia in the men’s doubles final.