Lucknow: Top seed Mansi Singh of Uttar Pradesh booked her place in the women’s singles final of the Yonex Sunrise Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta Memorial All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament with a thrilling win.
Organized under the aegis of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) by the Uttar Pradesh Badminton Association at BBD UP Badminton Academy, the tournament has seen several upsets and exciting clashes. Mansi will now lock horns with fifth seed Surya Charisma of Andhra Pradesh for the coveted title.
In the women’s singles semifinal, Mansi defeated sixth seed Shreya Lele of Gujarat in a three-game battle, 21-11, 8-21, 21-16. The top seed displayed aggressive smashes and sharp court coverage to outplay her opponent. Though Shreya staged a comeback in the second game, Mansi tightened her grip in the decider to clinch the match. Earlier in the quarterfinals, she had edged past Haryana’s eighth seed Devika Sihag 22-20, 20-22, 21-14.
In the other semifinal, Andhra’s Surya Charisma stunned third seed Isharani Barua of Assam with a hard-fought 21-10, 19-21, 21-19 win.
The men’s singles event witnessed dramatic turns. Former Syed Modi champion Sameer Verma, who had entered the main draw as a qualifier, was forced to retire midway against Haryana’s 10th seed Bharat Raghav due to fatigue, with the score reading 12-21, 22-20, 13-8. In the other semifinal, Manipur’s 12th seed Maisnam Meiraba created a major upset by ousting top seed Ginpaul S. of Delhi 21-12, 21-15.
In doubles action, the women’s doubles final will see Karnataka’s top-seeded pair of Shikha Gautam and Ashwini Bhatt face qualifiers Aditi Bhatt (Uttarakhand) and Shravani Walekar (Maharashtra). In mixed doubles, Tamil Nadu’s Dilipan V. and Pranavi N. will battle Kerala-Karnataka duo Bijon Jaison and Diya Bhimayya. Meanwhile, the men’s doubles final pits Maharashtra’s Viplav Kuvale and Viraj Kuvale against fourth seeds Siddharth Ilango (Telangana) and Santosh Gajendran (Tamil Nadu).
The finals will be held on September 19 from 12 noon across two courts, followed by the closing and prize distribution ceremony at 3 pm. Uttar Pradesh Sports Secretary Suhas LY will be the chief guest, with UP Badminton Association Chairman Viraj Sagar Das as the special guest.
Final Line-up:
Court 1 (12 noon onwards)
- Mixed Doubles: Dilipan V. / Pranavi N. (Tamil Nadu) vs Bijon Jaison / Diya Bhimayya (Kerala/Karnataka)
- Women’s Doubles: Shikha Gautam / Ashwini Bhatt (Karnataka) vs Aditi Bhatt / Shravani Walekar (Uttarakhand/Maharashtra)
- Women’s Singles: Mansi Singh (Uttar Pradesh) vs Surya Charisma (Andhra Pradesh)
Court 2 (from 12:45 pm)
- Men’s Singles: Maisnam Meiraba (Manipur) vs Bharat Raghav (Haryana)
- Men’s Doubles: Viplav Kuvale / Viraj Kuvale (Maharashtra) vs Siddharth Ilango / Santosh Gajendran (Telangana/Tamil Nadu)
