KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 21

Kumari Bank and Nepal Electricity Authority made winning starts in the Kumari Bank Kathmandu Team Championship Corporate Badminton Championship here at the National Sports Council (NSC) covered hall today.

The title sponsor of the championship, Kumari Bank defeated Kantipur Publications 3-0 in Group A, while NEA came from two sets down to beat IME Group 3-2 in Group B match.

Kumari Bank took lead after Sudip Sedhai defeated Sajan Krishna Tamrakar 21-18, 21-19 in men's singles before Sunaina Mukhiya beat Samjhana Sharma 21-9, 21-11 to make it 2-0 in the best-of-five encounter.

Kumari Bank sealed the victory after Bikram Niraula and Niraj Rai recorded win in corporate doubles match, beating Sushil Kumar Rawal and Mahesh Swar 21-15, 27-25.

In Group B, NEA fell 2-0 behind against IME Group after Nabin Shrestha defeated Deepak Bohara 21-14, 21-15 and Nangshal Devi Tamang outplayed Shova Gauchan 21-12, 21-15 in their respective singles matches. NEA then bounced back strongly and bagged three wins to seal the victory.

NEA duo Shree Prasad Dhimal and Raju Maharjan defeated Saroj Basnet and Brijen Shrestha 21-15, 21-1 in corporate doubles, while Shova Gauchan and Yam Kumari Gurung beat IME Group's Smarika Yarusha Shrestha Thapa and Nangshal Tamang 21-11, 21-12 in women's doubles to level the scores at 2-2. In the fifth and final event, Deepak Bohara and Raju Maharjan recorded a 21-18, 21-18 victory over Nabin Shrestha and Nishant Dhakal to hand NEA the stunning victory.

A total of eight corporate houses are taking part in the tournament organised by Kathmandu Badminton Academy.

A version of this article appears in the print on December 22, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.