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.
