Sanskar Saraswat Overcomes Compatriot Mithun Manjunath To Clinch Guwahati Masters Title

Sanskar Saraswat Overcomes Compatriot Mithun Manjunath To Clinch Guwahati Masters Title

Rajasthan's Sanskar Saraswat secured his first Super 100 title after a hard-fought three-game victory over fellow Indian Mithun Manjunath in the men's singles final of the Guwahati Masters on Sunday.

The 19-year-old from Jodhpur displayed determination and power, delivering a series of smashes to defeat former national champion Manjunath 21-11, 17-21, 21-13 in an all-Indian final that lasted 50 minutes.

Saraswat, who trains at the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati, has been making significant progress on the domestic circuit. He won his first senior national doubles title with Arsh Mohammad in Bengaluru last year and had previously claimed a junior singles title.

The pair also finished runners-up in the under-19 event at the 31st Smit Krishna Khaitan Memorial Badminton Tournament in September last year.

Playing with his right leg heavily taped, Saraswat maintained a slight lead early on before Manjunath levelled at 7-7 in the opening game. Although the rallies were short, both players capitalised on each other's mistakes.

Saraswat took a narrow 11-9 lead into the interval and extended it to 14-10 with a series of attacking shots. Manjunath struggled to handle Saraswat's cross-court and down-the-line smashes, allowing Saraswat to gain nine game points and comfortably close out the first game.

In the second game, Saraswat continued his offensive strategy, quickly taking an 8-2 lead with his powerful smashes putting Manjunath under pressure. However, the Karnataka shuttler mounted a strong comeback, winning five consecutive points to level at 7-8 and then taking an 11-10 lead at the interval.

The momentum shifted as Manjunath overcame a deficit to secure an 18-16 lead before Saraswat's errors gave him three game points, which he converted to force a deciding game.

In the third game, Saraswat started aggressively, racing to a 7-0 lead. Manjunath managed to close the gap briefly, but Saraswat maintained control, leading 11-5 at the interval.

After the break, Saraswat's ability to get under the shuttle and execute powerful smashes proved decisive as he extended his lead to 14-6 and earned eight match points.

Saraswat sealed the victory on his second opportunity with a deep return.

Saraswat was introduced to the sport by his father Raj, a former national-level singles and doubles player.

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He began his training at the Drona Sports Academy and went on to win the under-13 national doubles title with Tushar Suveer. Later, he partnered with Bhuvan Singh to claim the under-15 national doubles crown in Bhubaneswar in 2019.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Source: News18
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