India women’s badminton doubles team of Ashwini Ponappa and Tanisha Crasto defeated Denmark’s Julie Finne-Ipsen and Mai Surrow in the final to win the Abu Dhabi Matsers, a Super 100 event.
Ponappa-Crasto took the title in three games with a scoreline of 21-16, 16-21, 21-8 in a contest that lasted 58 minutes.
ICC World Cup: Schedule | Results | Points Table | Most Runs | Most Wickets
The Indian duo started the event as the favourites and did not disappoint. After getting a bye in the first round, they brushed aside UAE’s Farah Alhajji and Ghadeer Ali Altahri 21-3, 21-3.
Congratulations to Unnati Hooda on her 2️⃣nd and Tanisha/Ashwini for their 1️⃣st #Super100 title on #BWFWorldTour at #AbuDhabiMasters2023Kudos to Samiya Imad Farooqui for finishing as runner-up #IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/XQpJ2n50Xv
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) October 23, 2023
In the last-four stage, they were up against compatriots Sikki Reddy and Arathi Sara Sunil and Ponappa-Crasto won the contest 21-16, 21-14 to enter the finale.
Meanwhile, the final of the women’s singles event was an all-India affair with Unnati Hooda defeating Samiya Imad Farooqui in straight games.
The 16-year-old Unnati beat 20-year-old Samiya 21-16, 22-20 to clinch what is the second Super 100 title of her career.
Unnati was in impressive form throughout the competition and outshined top-seed Thet Htar Thuzar in the semis, winning 21-18, 21-12.
The Indian contingent returned empty handed from the men’s event though.
In the men’s singles event, Kiran George and Raghu Mariswamy failed to progress beyond the semis while the men’s doubles and mixed doubles teams exited in the quarters.
