International Challenge Badminton at Guwahati

Saina, Chetan finish runners-up:

Guwahati, Dec 5: Top seeded Indians Chetan Anand and Saina Nehwal lost their final matches in the India International Challenge Badminton Championship at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Amingaon near here on Wednesday.

Saina lost to Japanese Kanako Yonekera 13-21, 18-21 in women’s singles while Malaysian Chung Wei Pei beat India's number one shuttler Chetan Anand 21-18, 20-22, 21-15 to lift the men's single title.

Saina made some late rallies in the second game but that was not enough to get the better of her lanky and nimble-footed Japanese opponent who has tremendous cross court coverage. The Indian lost the final in 45 minutes.

The Japanese took the first game easily (21-13) as she took control of the game by the half way and never allowed Saina, who did produce some occasional brilliance, to come back into the match.

In the second game, Saina opened a five point gap in the beginning but Kanako soon caught her up and by the tenth point she started opening a small gape which she successfully held on till the final point to win the match 21-18.

In the men’s singles, Chetan tried to make a comeback in the second set and won it 22-20 after having conceded the first set 18-21. But he failed to sustain his form in the decider and went down 15-21 without much fight.

The men’s singles winner received 1200 dollar while the runners-up got 600 dollar. The women’s singles champion was by 1035 dollar and the runners-up received 495 dollar.

In men’s doubles, Malaysian pair of Chan Pen Soon and Chung Hun downed Indian duo of K Dinesh and James Jayan 21-8, 21-15.

Yesterday (Dec 4), Mizo girl and wife of Chetan, Jwala Gutta had completed her double crowns winning both women’s and mixed doubles.

In the mixed doubles, Jwala and V Diju pair had defeated compatriots Aparna Balan and Ramesh Kumar 21-14, 21-16.

In the women’s doubles, Jwala and Sruti Kurian had beaten Aparna Balan and P Jyotshna 21-11, 21-18.

Saina Nehwal on Sania Mirza

Saina has no complaints on media hype over Sania:

Guwahati, Dec 4: Her first visit to the city gave her the gold medal. On her second visit she is on the verge of winning another international title.

“My opponent in the final is a very good player and more important thing is that she is more experienced then me. So I think it will be a very tough match and either one can win it,” Saina said after her semi-final victory in the India International Challenge Badminton Championship at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Tuesday.

A trainee of the Badminton Academy run by former national champion Pullela Gopichand, Saina started her badminton career at the age of nine and she admitted that her performance graph has climbed as per expectation except on a few occasions.

Replying to a query Saina said: “I have won all the national championship in different age groups. I also won the senior national title. In several international meets too I performed well although on a few occasion I lost narrowly. I am working on it and am hopeful that very soon I would be able to overcome this problem.”

If world ranking is considered, Saina’s position is much above another woman star player of the country, Sania Mirza.

Yet it has been seen that the craze for Sania among the crowd and media is more than Saina.

Does it hurt Saina? The badminton star didn’t want to blame any one. “In every discipline hard work is absolutely necessary to reach a certain positions and draw the attention of the media and the sports lovers.

‘’In tennis probably it is comparatively easier to hog the attention of all quarters. But it’s OK. I don’t have any complain”, Saina said.

Saina is very impressed by the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium and felt that it could easily host any major tournament of the world.

“The stadium is really nice and you can easily compare it with any major badminton stadium of the world. All the facilities are available here and I would not be surprised if it hosts another big international tournament in the coming days”, she added.

Source: The Sentinel

International Challenge Badminton at Guwahati

Saina, Chetan given top billings:

Guwahati, Dec 2: Saina Nehwal has been given top seed in the women’s section while in the men’s category Chetan Anand has earned the top billing in the International Challenge Badminton tournament starting at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Monday.

As per the seeding list, four out of eight players in the men’s section are from India. The other three players are Anand Pawar (4), P Kashyap (5) and Nikhil Kanetkar (7).

K Raffeinner from Italy and WF Chong of Malaysia will be the second and the third seeds in the men’s singles.

In the women’s section, Trupti Murgunde and Aditi Mutatkar have been seeded third and fourth in the singles, while Kanaka Yonekura of Japan will be the seeded number two.


It is for the first time Guwahati will host any international badminton meet which will see around 100 players from 10 countries vying for top honours.

The 15,000-dollar prize-money four star tournament will be played on four Hova courts in the stadium.

India will have a 51-member strong squad – the biggest contingent -- which will include five boys and four girls from Assam.

The semi final will be played on Tuesday while the finals have been slated for Wednesday.

International Challenge Badminton Championship

Gogoi to inaugurate badminton meet:

Guwahati, Dec 1: The India International Challenge Badminton Championship will get under way on Monday at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi will inaugurate the tournament in the afternoon.

Assam Badminton Association Secretary Omar Rashid said the matches, however, will start from the morning.

According to the schedule, the tournament was supposed to begin with the qualifying round on Sunday. But as no entry for the qualifying round was received by the organisers, there will be no matches on Sunday.

It is for the first time any international badminton tournament will be held in the city and around 100 participants from ten countries will take part in the championship.

Source: The Sentinel

International Challenge Badminton Championship

Shuttlers arrive in the city:

Guwahati, Nov 30: Altogether 41 players arrive here on Friday to take part in the India International Challenge Badminton Championship which will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Amingaon from Sunday.

Apart from India other countries that will take part in the meet are Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal, Italy, Austria, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Players from almost all the participating countries have arrived today while Sri Lanka team is scheduled to be arrived tomorrow.

Pakistan has sent maximum number of 14 players while Indonesia and Malaysia have five-member teams. Austria, Italy and Japan have two members each while Bangladesh has a six-member squad.

Only five players of the Indian team have arrived today while the majority of the players are scheduled to reach here tomorrow.

Afghanistan has withdrawn from the championship due to some visa problem.

All the players have been given accommodation at hotels situated at the Guwahati-Shillong road in the city.

This afternoon all the players have workout sessions at the competition venue.

Oil India Limited (OIL) has agreed to be the title sponsor of the championship which will be the maiden international event organised by the Assam Badminton Association.

Source: The Sentinel; The Assam Tribune

International Badminton tournament at Guwahati

Saina confirms participation in India Challenge Cup:

Guwahati, Nov 29: Few former badminton stars of the country will visit Guwahati to watch the India Challenge Cup Badminton Tournament which will get under way at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium from December two.

Around 100 players from 11 countries are expected to take part in the tournament.

A top official of the Assam Badminton Association Madhurya Baruah said that a few former star players including former national champion Pullela Gopichand will be in the city to witness the tournament.

Barua also added that Sandeep Singh Dhilon, a top former shuttler of the country, is also expected to be in the city during the tournament.

Number one women player of India, Saina Nehwal, who is seeded number one in the tournament, has confirmed her participation in the championship.

Though there was a little uncertainty over her participation in the meet, Barua clarified that it was now confirmed that Saina will take part in the championship.

Players from the various countries will arrive in the city tomorrow to take part in the meet. With the arrival of the players barely a few hours away, the security in the city has been beefed up.

A source in the Assam Police said that special security arrangement would be made throughout tournament at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium and its adjoining areas.

The road, through which players will travel, would also be kept under vigil so that no untoward incident could take place during the four-day championship.

Source: The Sentinel

International badminton tournament in Guwahati

Shuttlers to reach city from Friday for India Challenge Badminton:

Guwahati, Nov 28: The first batch of the shuttlers taking part in the India Challenge Badminton Tournament which will get under way at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor stadium from December 2 will arrive in the city on Friday.

Around 100 participants are expected to take part in the meet.

It is for the first time that the Assam Badminton Association is hosting any international meet and the preparation is going on full swing.

Altogether four courts would be used during the tournament and the laying of courts is in the final stage.

Players, particularly those representing India from Asom, would start their practice sessions in the stadium from tomorrow.

Apart from host India, the other countries that will take part in the championship include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal and a few others.

Among the top Indian players who are likely to be seen in action in the meet include the top-ranked Chetan Anand and Saina Nahwal. However, the organisers are yet to get the confirmation from Saina as she is playing another tournament abroad (Lost in the first round in Hong Kong Super Series on Wednesday -- my addition).

Source: The Sentinel