Indonesia Masters 2023 badminton: India’s Kiran George wins singles title
The Indian badminton player defeated Koo Takahashi of Japan in straight games for his career’s second BWF World Tour Super 100 title.
Badminton
Indian badminton player Kiran George clinched the men’s singles title at the Indonesia Masters 2023 in Medan, North Sumatra on Sunday.
Playing at the GOR PBSI Pancing court, Kiran George, 50th in the badminton rankings, beat world No. 82 Koo Takahashi of Japan 21-19, 22-20 in 56 minutes to claim his second BWF World Tour Super 100 badminton title. Kiran George won the Odisha Open last year, beating compatriot Priyanshu Rawat in the final.
In the Indonesia Masters final, Kiran George and Koo Takahashi matched each other’s intensity in the first game. However, after the scores were tied at 15-all, Kiran George won six of the next 10 points to take a 1-0 lead.
The second game also got off to a similar start. The 23-year-old Indian shuttler amped up his game after the scores were level at 6-all to take a five-point lead at 16-11.
Koo Takahashi made a strong comeback in the closing stages of the game to force a tie-breaker. Kiran George won back-to-back points after scores were level at 20-all to win his first BWF World Tour Super 100 title of the 2023 badminton season.
In the semi-final on Saturday, Kiran George beat 2014 World Championships bronze medallist Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia in three games.
Kiran George was the only Indian who reached the final at the Indonesia Masters 2023.
The Indian women’s doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa, seeded seventh, were ousted in the semi-final after losing to top-seeded pair Lanny Tria Mayasari and Ribka Sugiarto of Indonesia, 20-22, 21-16, 21-13.
World No. 96 Mansi Singh was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals by 82nd-ranked Chiu Pin-Chian of Chinese Taipei. The 20-year-old Indian shuttler had earlier toppled third-seeded Malvika Bansod in the round of 16.
Tanisha Crasto and Sai Pratheek, India’s mixed doubles pair at the Indonesia Masters 2023, were defeated by Chinese Taipei’s Wu Hsuan-Yi and Yang Chu Yun 21-15, 21-17 in the round of 32.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap and Subhankar Dey could not make it past the qualifying rounds.
Meiraba Luwang Maisnam in men’s singles, and Ira Sharma and Anupama Upadhyaya in women’s singles were other notable early exits.
No Indian pair featured in the men’s doubles category at the Indonesia Masters 2023.
The Indian shuttlers will be back in action at the Hong Kong Open, a BWF Super 500 event, and Vietnam Open Super 100 tournament. Both events begin on Tuesday.