85th Senior National Badminton Championship: Chirag, Tanvi Sharma storm into final

Chirag Sen entered into the men's singles final after defeating second ranked Kiran George in the semi-final clash of the 85th Senior National Badminton Championships here on Saturday. Odisha Masters champion Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto cruised into the mixed doubles final with a comfortable 21-11, 21-13 victory over Deep Rambhiya and Akshaya Warang.

Guwahati: Chirag Sen progressed to the men's singles summit clash after staving off a spirited challenge from second-seeded Kiran George in the semi-final of the 85th Senior National Badminton Championships here on Saturday.

Chirag, who is the elder brother of Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lakshya Sen, secured a 21-18, 21-18 victory to set up a final clash with fourth-seeded Tharun M, who defeated Bharat Raghav 21-11, 16-21, 21-19 in a closely contested match.

In women's singles category, both the semi-finals witnessed upsets at the R. G. Baruah Sports Complex. While Tanvi Sharma overcame eighth-seeded Isharani Baruah 21-15, 20-22, 21-14, Haryana's Anmol Kharb stunned second-seeded local favorite Ashmita Chaliha 21-17, 21-19.

Odisha Masters champion Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto cruised into the mixed doubles final with a comfortable 21-11, 21-13 victory over Deep Rambhiya and Akshaya Warang. They will face the pair of Nitin Kumar and Navdha Manglam, who clinched a hard-fought victory over H.V. Nithin and Maneesha K with a score of 10-21, 21-18, 21-19.

In women's doubles, Maharashtrian pair of Ritika Thaker and Simran Singhi defeated P. Amrutha and Pranjal Prabhu Chimulkar 21-11, 21-11 to secure a spot in the final. The duo will face the third-seeded pair of Priya Devi Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra, who registered a 21-13, 21-11 win over Mrunmayee Deshpande and Prerana Alvekar.

The prestigious tournament is being organized by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) in Assam after four years.