Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], December 3 (ANI): India’s women’s doubles pair Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa fell just short against Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi of Japan in a thrilling three-game women’s doubles final 14-21, 21-17, 15-21 to finish as Runners-Up at Syed Modi India International Badminton Championship 2023 in Lucknow on Sunday.
Tanisha and Ashwini are the only Indian women’s doubles pair this year to reach two finals in the BWF World Tour as they also reached the finals and emerged victorious at the Abu Dhabi Masters 2023 in October.
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Earlier, Crasto-Ponnappa beat compatriots Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand to make it to the quarters. In the semifinals, they had a much tougher challenge in the form of Japanese top seeds Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota.
Both sides started off the game with high intensity and Japan was getting better of India by 11-10 in the first game. It was when Hirota fell on court after injuring her knee. The shuttler did receive medical attention but could not continue. Hence, they withdrew from the match and the spot in the final was earned by the Indians.
The results of this tournament will count towards players’ qualifying rankings for the Paris 2024 Olympics. (ANI)
