In the middle of the match, Tanvi Sharma of Punjab suffered a thigh strain, which allowed Anmol to win the women’s singles summit badminton match 15-21, 21-17, 16-8 (retd.).
Chirag Sen of Indian Railways has had a successful three months, defeating more skilled competitors in international competitions. He began the run with the Infosys International Challenge in Bengaluru, where he advanced to the. badminton semifinals.
He ended the season on a high note, defeating fourth-seeded M. Tharun of Telangana in the men’s singles final on Sunday to win the men’s singles title at the 85th Senior National badminton championships here, 21-14, 13-21, 21-9.
Haryana’s Anmol Kharb could not have asked for a simpler life. In the middle of the match, her opponent and close friend Tanvi Sharma from Punjab suffered a thigh strain, which allowed the former to win the women’s singles summit match 15-21, 21-17, 16-8 (retd.). In the third game, Tanvi gave up with Anmol ahead 16–8.
In the first game, Tanvi was the more skilled player. She attacked from the backcourt, barely allowing her opponent any space to get open for her smashes. In a close second game, Tanvi took a 15-10 lead and appeared to be headed in the right direction. But at 17–14, Tanvi appeared to have strained her right thigh as she raced from the backcourt to the front to get a drop. When play resumed after her medical time-out, she had changed as a player. In the second, she performed the routine, and in the third, she gave up.
Being the 16-year-old winner and one of the youngest female players to win the Senior Nationals makes me happy. I’m overjoyed because my idol, Saina Nehwal, won the championship in 2006–07 when she was just 16 years old, Anmol remarked.
The Tharun vs. Chirag match was, predictably, close to the wire. Chirag was a man possessed in the decisive third game, attacking whenever he could. He once attacked every serve Tharun made. Chirag led 15–9 and that was pretty much it for the match.
For a while now, I’ve been having trouble dating alone. I first gained confidence by defeating some skilled players in the Infosys Challenge held at my academy, Prakash Padukone BA. It had been four years since I had played in a singles final on the circuit. Right now, I’m overjoyed. My victory over the third-seeded Kartikey Gulshan Kumar in this tournament’s second round gave me the assurance that I can win challenging matches, Chirag said.
