KATHMANDU: Ratnajit Tamang of Bhojpur gave a magnificent show defeating second-seed Ram Singh Chaudhary of Kailali to claim the men’s singles title of the National Open Badminton Tournament here at the Nepal Police Club today.

In the championship match, Tamang looked comfortable winning

the first set 21-16 and sealed competitive

second 21-18. “I haven’t even imagined that I would be able to defeat a top-seed player,” said Tamang, who played an U-19 tournament in Malaysia early this year.

Chaudhary, who was under tremendous pressure to win against a junior opponent, never looked comfortable in the match except putting some good fight in the second set. “I think he was a bit uncomfortable playing against a junior and kept on committing errors,” said Tamang. Chaudhary lost most of his points making errors in services. Along with the title, Tamang also pocketed Rs 50,000 while Chaudhary took home Rs 20,000. Pankaj Chand and Sajan Krishna Tamrakar of Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club earned Rs10,000 each as the losing semi-finalists.

It was a double glory for the Tamang family as Ratnajit’s sister Sara Devi of Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) clinched the women’s singles’ title edging Puja Shrestha of APF 21-12, 21-10. Sara posted an easy victory, outplaying Puja in every department. “Playing against the likes of the senior player, I was feeling a bit nervous in the beginning but thankfully I played well and got the reward,” she said. Sara won Rs 40,000 and Puja took home Rs 24,000. Sujana Shrestha and Sabina Panthi of APF shared the third place prize of Rs 20,000.

In the morning session of the final day, APF duo of Pankaj Chand and Rajeev Shrestha sealed the men’s doubles title registering a 18-21, 21-9, 21-16 win over Bharat Shrestha and Surya Thapa of Nepal Police Club. The winners also got Rs 40,000 while the runners received Rs 24,000. Indra Mahata and Bishal Pradhan shared Rs 10,000 third place prize with Bikash Shrestha and Kishor Rana. The tournament was organised by the Nepal Police to mark the 56th Police Day.