Kathmandu, November 17

Tribhuvan Army Club shuttler Ratnajit Tamang won seventh consecutive title of the Sunrise Yonex eighth Pushpalal Memorial National Open Badminton Tournament here today.

Tamang registered a 21-11, 21-16 win over Nepal APF Club’s Dipesh Dhami in the men’s singles final. No 1 shuttler Tamang was 12-16 down in the second set but he proved his credentials and won nine straight points to complete the victory in straight sets. TAC duo Nabin Shrestha and Rukesh Maharjan were joint third.

In women’s singles final, Tamang’s elder sister, Nangsal defeated her TAC teammate Rashila Maharjan 22-20, 15-21, 21-18. She was runner-up to APF’s Jessica Gurung in the previous edition. Gurung and Shova Gauchan of APF finished third. The top three finishers in singles categories received Rs 50,000, Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.

Earlier, Ratnajit Tamang won his second title of the tournament after he teamed up with Nabin Shrestha to beat APF pair Dipesh Dhami and Bijit Thapa 22-20, 20-22, 21-11 in the men’s doubles final. Rukesh Maharjan and Praful Maharjan of TAC and Gautam Kathayat and Sunil Joshi of APF were joint third.

In women’s doubles, Puja Shrestha and Jessica Gurung of APF defeated TAC duo Nangsal Tamang and Rashila Maharjan 21-13, 21-14. Sita Rai of Zest Badminton Academy and Samjhana Sharma of Banke finished third along with TAC duo Amita Giri and Anu Maya Rai. Top three pairs in doubles section earned Rs 20,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively.

Likewise, Prince Dahal of Silk Group and TAC’s Rashila Maharjan won the U-17 singles titles. Dahal, the winner of the Dubai Junior International Series, defeated Diwas Shankar of TAC 21-16, 21-5 in boys’ section final. Zest’s Priyansu Singh Chhetri and Pemba Sherpa came joint third.

In girls’ section, Maharjan beat her fellow TAC teammate Ranjana Bhatta 21-5, 21-5, while Rose Pandey and Sima Rajbanshi of Morang were third. Maharjan had entered the finals in three categories but she lost the women’s singles and doubles categories. Top three players in U-17 section received Rs 15,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively.

TAC’s Subash Shrestha and Bhumi Gurung won the above-45 doubles title with a 16-21, 21-16, 21-16 victory over Zest duo Nabin Babu Shrestha and Shyam Parajuli. Shrestha and Gurung duo captured their 20th title together. Anuj Paudel and Prem Ghale of Zest and Sunil Man Shakya and Purna Bhakta Chitrakar of Lalitpur came joint third. Top three pairs received Rs 20,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively. Member Secretary of National Sports Council Keshab Kumar Bista and Nepal Badminton Association President Ramji Bahadur Shrestha among others handed over the prizes to the winners of the tournament organised by National Badminton Association under the Nepal Confederation of Sports.