Despite reaching the final of South Asian Regional Badminton Tournament, Nepal lost to host India by 3-0 margin on Tuesday, December 5. The winning team India has been dominating the tournament from the beginning, as players from the host country did not even lose a single match in the competition.
India’s Aryaman Tandon won the first match by beating the Nepal’s Dipesh Dhami, the winner of Pakistan Badminton Series in the mixed double category. The Indian player beat his Nepali opponent in 21-9 and 21-15 straight set. Aryaman Tandon ranked third in India and drew the first blood for the host country.
In girls’ singles, Nepali player Rashila Maharajan lost her match to local player Ashmita Chaliha by 21-9 and 21-6. Local talent Ashmita has been picked up by the franchise of North Eastern Warriors, which is a team of Vodafone Premier Badminton League. The local player did not sweat much to beat her Nepali opponent, as Ashmita secured a comprehensive victory against Rashila and gave the host double lead in the competition.
In boys’ doubles, Nepal’s Dipesh Dhami and Nabin Shrestha lost their match to India’s Arintap Dasgupta and Krishna Prasad G. Though the Nepali pair won the first set by 21-19, they could not restrict their opponent in the rest of the match and lost the game by 21-14 and 21-11 in following rounds.
Indian junior badminton coach Sanjay Mishra lauded the performance of Indian players and said he is happy with the way they played throughout the tournament. The coach added that Nepal is a good team and Indian players defeated them with their great performance.
