Indian shuttlers enter three finals in Maldives Challenge tournament

Five Indian shuttlers, which includes a doubles pair, reached three finals of the Maldives International Challenge 2023 on Friday. Amongst these finals is an all-Indian women's singles showdown between Tasnim Mir and Ashmita Chaliha.

The other players who reached the summit matches are Ravi (Men's singles), and the pair of Ashwini Bhat/Shikha Gautam (Women's doubles).

Another Indian in Kiran George, who had a brilliant outing in the recently concluded Thailand Open, surprisingly fell to his opponent Soong Joo Ven of Malaysia in the semi-finals, with the final score reading 13-21, 21-17, 21-16, in the favour of Ven.

Fifth seed Mir defeated tenth seed Neslihan Yigit of Turkey in straight sets (21-11, 21-10), unseeded Ravi beat Germany's Kai Schaefer, the sixth seed, in straight sets (21-11, 21-14), third seeded Chaliha got the better of Aisyah Fatetani of Indonesia in straight sets (21-16, 21-18), and top seeds Bhat/Gautam defeated Fungfa Korpthammakit/Worrapol Thongsa-Nga in straight sets (21-16, 21-19).

The Maldives tournament, at the level of a BWF International Challenge event, started back in 2010, with a prize money of $15,000 up for grabs for the winners. In its history, Indian shuttlers have won a total of eight titles (three in men's singles, three in women's singles, one in men's doubles, and two in mixed doubles). This means that Ashwini and Shikha have a chance to give India it's first title in the women's doubles category.

All the finals will be held on Saturday, June 10. The matches will be in the following order:

Ravi v/s Soong Joo Ven (Men's Singles)

Ashwini Bhat/Shikha Gautam v/s Laksika Kanlaha/Phataimas Muenwong (Women's Doubles)

Tasnim Mir v/s Ashmita Chaliha (Women's Singles)