Syed Modi International 2023 badminton: Tanisha Crasto-Ashwini Ponnappa in final
The Indian duo made the women’s doubles final after their semi-final opponents retired midway through the first game. Priyanshu Rajawat lost in the men’s singles semis.
Badminton
India’s Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa made the women’s doubles final at the Syed Modi International 2023 badminton tournament in Lucknow on Saturday.
The seventh-seeded duo of Tanisha Crasto-Ashwini Ponnappa, who defeated compatriots Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand in the quarters, were up against Japanese top seeds Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota in their final four match.
The match started with high intensity and the Japanese pair was leading 11-10 when Hirota injured her knee after slipping and falling on the court. The Japanese shuttler received medical attention on courtside but eventually decided to withdraw from the match.
Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa will face another Japanese pair, Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi, in Sunday’s final. Iwanaga-Nakanishi beat the Australian team of Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu to make the title clash of the BWF Super 300 tournament.
India’s challenge in the men’s singles, however, ended with world No. 31 Priyanshu Rajawat losing to Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen 21-18, 14-21, 17-21.
The Indian badminton player showed good character to take the first game after coming from behind but failed to match up to Jen, ranked 48th in the world, in the next two games. The match lasted 71 minutes.
Results from the Syed Modi India International will count towards players’ qualifying rankings for the Paris 2024 Olympics.