Badminton Nationals: Surya Charishma Tamiri, Tanvi Patri set up women’s singles final

Local favourite Surya Charishma Tamiri and rising shuttler Tanvi Patri booked their places in the women’s singles final at the Senior National Badminton Championships in Vijayawada on Saturday, setting up a first-time summit clash at the prestigious domestic tournament.

Surya Charishma, who had earlier eliminated top seed Unnati Hooda, continued her impressive run with a hard-fought three-game win over world number 45 Rakshita Sree R.

The Andhra Pradesh shuttler took the opening game 21-18 before Rakshita forced a decider by claiming the second 21-18. Surya Charishma then dominated the final game, pulling away decisively to close out the match 21-9.

In the other semifinal, Tanvi Patri showed composure beyond her years to come from behind against Maharashtra’s Shruti Mundada. After dropping the opening game 18-21, Tanvi raised her level, controlling rallies and dictating pace to win the next two games 21-12 and 21-15, securing her maiden appearance in a senior nationals final.

The men’s singles semifinals produced two high-quality contests. Rithvik Sanjeevi S, winner of the 2024 Odisha Masters, edged past top seed Kiran George in a tense encounter that lasted over an hour. Rithvik saved a match point before sealing a dramatic 22-20 victory in the deciding game after splitting the first two 21-16, 17-21.

He will face Bharat Raghav in the final after Bharat overcame second seed M Tharun in three games. Bharat recovered strongly after losing the second game to register a 21-17, 11-21, 21-11 win in 55 minutes.

Doubles finals line-up confirmed

In mixed doubles, top seeds Ashith Surya and Amrutha P recovered from a one-sided opening game to defeat Deep Rambhiya and Sonali Mirkhelkar, while second seeds Sathwik Reddy K and Radhika Sharma advanced with a straight-games win. The women’s doubles final will feature former national champions, with Shikha Gautam and Ashwini Bhat K set to face Priya Devi Konjengban and Shruti Mishra.