Guwahati Masters | Ashwini & Tanisha clinch women’s doubles title

All smiles: Ashwini-Tanisha pair dominated proceedings throughout the summit clash.
| Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR

In hardly 11 months of playing as a pair on the BWF tour, the Indian duo of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto has made quite a rapid progress, reaching World No.28. Now, it’s the second-best Indian doubles combination after Gayatri Gopi Chand and Treesa Jolly (WR: 19) in the world rankings.

In the women’s doubles summit clash of the Yonex-Sunrise Guwahati Masters Super 100 International badminton tournament here on Sunday, Ashwini-Tanisha produced a stellar performance to beat Taipei’s Sung Shuo Yun and Yu Chien Hui 21-13, 21-19 to bag its third title in four finals.

The Taipei pair was below par in all ways. Sung and Yu neither had the weapons nor the nous required to match wits against the crack combination of Ashwini and Tanisha. If not for a few unforced errors from the Indians in the second game, the contest would have gotten over much earlier than the 40 minutes it took.

Tanisha at the net was quick to pounce if the shuttle was within the range to go for a ‘kill’ and her retrievals were top-notch. Ashwini was solid and steady at the back.

“We are working on a lot of things. The important thing is to have an all-round game and not have a single-minded game. We are more open to all aspects. That will be crucial for us. In this tournament, that worked very well. The variations in our shots, the variations from attack to defence worked well,” Ashwini said to The Hindu.

“I am not surprised (with our progress). The whole goal was to do well. We are on the right track and are looking to do better.”

The results (finals): Men: Singles: Yohanes Saut Marcellyno (Ina) bt Alvi Wijaya Chairullah (Ina) 21-12, 21-17; Doubles: Choong Hon Jian & Haikal Muhammad (Mas) bt Lin Bing-Wei & Su Ching Heng (Tpe) 21-17, 23-21.

Women: Singles: Lalinrat Chaiwan (Tha) bt Line Christophersen (Den) 21-14, 17-21, 21-16; Doubles: Ashwini Ponnappa & Tanisha Crasto bt Sung Shuo Yun & Yu Chien Hui (Tpe) 21-13, 21-19.

Mixed doubles: Hee Yong Kai Terry & Tan Wei Han Jessica (Sin) bt Mads Vestergaard (Den) 21-29, 21-11.