Kathmandu, March 29

Dipesh Dhami and Rashila Maharjan won the singles titles of the 15th Nationwide Krishna Mohan Memorial Open Badminton Tournament here at the Nepal APF Club covered hall today.

Nepal APF Club’s Dhami defeated Silk Group’s Prince Dahal 21-12, 18-21, 21-14 in the men’s singles final, while Tribhuvan Army Club shuttler Maharjan beat APF’s Jessica Gurung 21-14, 13-21, 21-18 in women’s section final. Defending champions Ratnajit Tamang and Nangsal Tamang did not take part in the event.

Dhami completed a treble as he also won men’s doubles and mixed doubles titles. Dhami teamed up with Bijit Thapa Magar to beat TAC duo Praful Maharjan and Suroj Maharjan 21-16, 21-4 in the men’s doubles final, while he and Pooja Shrestha had bagged mixed doubles title yesterday.

Pooja Shrestha also won the women’s doubles title beating TAC duo Rashila Maharjan and Anu Maya Rai 21-10, 21-19. Apart from winning the women’s singles crown, TAC shuttler Maharjan also bagged the U-17 girls’ singles title, while Silk Group’s Dahal was the winner in boys’ category.

Also, Prem Kumar Shrestha and Chet Singh Thapa finished first in above-35 veteran doubles section, while Shyam Parajuli and Nabin Babu Shrestha of Zest Badminton Academy bagged the above-45 section title and Pushpa Raj Tamrakar and Raju Bhuju of Galaxy Badminton Club claimed the above-55 veteran doubles trophy yesterday.

The tournament carried a cash purse of Rs 710,000. Top three players in men’s singles and doubles sections received Rs 60,000, Rs 30,000 and Rs 12,500 respectively, while women’s singles winners earned Rs 50,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 12,500 respectively. The top three in women’s doubles received Rs 40,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.

Likewise, Ivanhoe Lissanevitch won the men’s singles title of the 11th Sahabir Memorial Open Lawn Tennis Tournament. The Nepal APF Club player defeated Denmark’sd Niko Rastrup 7-6, 6-2 in final. In women’s singles, Prerana Koirala of Sunsari beat Ganga Sharma of Pokhara 6-3, 6-3 to win the title. Top three players in both sections received Rs 40,000, Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.

On Thursday, Chandra Sai bagged the above-45 veteran singles title, while Scissor Gurung won the inter-governmental service category.

Also, Nepal APF Club won the title of the APF IG sixth National Open Women’s Volleyball Tournament. The hosts defeated Hongwanji New Diamond Academy 25-12, 25-11, 25-11 in the final. Nepal Police Club beat Tribhuvan Army Club 25-18, 17-25, 13-25, 25-23, 15-13 in the five-set thriller to finish third. Top three teams received Rs 250,000, Rs 125,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively.

APF also dominated the individual awards winning six out of seven titles. Nebika Chaudhary (spiker), Manisha Tamang (defender), Saraswati Chaudhary (blocker), Binita Budhathoki (setter), Puja Chaudhary (emerging player) and Gyanendra Bista (coach) won the individual awards, while Pratibha Mali of New Diamond was named the best server. They received Rs 5,000 each. A total of six teams competed in the tournament that carried a total cash purse of Rs 455,000.

Nepal APF IG Shailendra Khanal, AIG Ram Sharan Paudel, Nepal Lawn Tennis Association President Jyoti Rana, Nepal Badminton Association President Ramji Bahadur Shrestha, Nepal Volleyball Association President Manoranjan Raman Sharma among others handed over the prizes to the winners.