Ashmita, Lakshya corner glory

In an allindian affair, qualifier Ashmita Chaliha defeated eighthseeded Vrushali Gummadi in the women’s singles final of the Tata Open India International Challenge 201■ badminton tournament in Mumbai. Ashmita unsettled her rival with variations in pace and strokes to win 2116, 2113 in just 30 minutes at the Cricket Club of India court.

“Winning a senior final in an international tournament is very big for me,” said Ashmita.

The men’s final turned out to be an anticlimax as India’s Lakshya Sen defeated the highlyrated Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 2115, 2110 for the men’s crown.

The two faced each other for the third time this season — the other two meetings being the Asian juniors final and the world juniors semifinal. The Thai player was deprived of fast returns across the net which he normally loves to feed on. Lakshya finished off points with angled returns, a different ploy from the stinging smashes he employed to subdue rivals en route to the final. The Indian, a finalist last year, won his first Tata Open title in his second appearance.

NANDAKUMAR MARAR