The Indian pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto on Sunday won the women’s doubles title at the Guwahati Masters 2023 badminton, beating Chinese Taipei’s Sung Shuo Yun and Yu Chien Hui 21-13, 21-19 in a closely-contested encounter.
This was Ashwini and Tanisha’s second title together, with the Indian badminton duo winning the Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100 tournament earlier this year.
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The Indian pair shook off the disappointment of last week, when Ponnappa and Crasto reached the final of Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament, but lost to Rin Iwanaga of Japan and Kie Nakanishi in the title decider.
Ashwini and Tanisha started the final on Sunday brightly. The first game was a one-sided affair as the Indian shuttlers dominated the proceedings. After gaining a point each in the first set, it was the turn for the hosts to take charge of the match. India’s top-ranked badminton players Ashwini and Tanisha kept building on their lead and comfortably won the first set to take the lead in the match.
The Indian shuttlers kept up the momentum in the second set too, racing to a 5 point lead going into the break. Facing elimination, the Taipei team came out strong in the second set and cut the deficit to 12-11, making sure a tight ending to the match.
At 19-19, it looked like the tide was turning in the Taipei players’ favour. However, with the support of the home crowd, the hosts fought back and managed to get the last two point of the match to clinch the title.
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