Badminton: Kaushal clinches title in Myanmar; three gold medals for India at Dubai junior event

Indian shuttler Kaushal Dharmamer clinched the Myanmar International Series with a come-from-behind win over Indonesia’s Karono Karono in a thrilling men’s singles final in Yangon on Sunday.

The 23-year-old from Mumbai, who had won the Hatzor International in October last year, recovered after dropping the opening game to outwit Karono 18-21, 21-14, 21-11 in a match that lasted an hour. He was seeded third at the tournament.

A trainee of Uday Pawar Badminton Academy, Kaushal, who has been troubled by injuries for almost two years, is currently ranked 187th.

Elsewhere, at Dubai Junior International Series, Indian shuttlers clinched three gold medals in the Under-19 categories.

Indian junior shuttlers shone bright as they bagged a rich haul of six medals.

Tasnim Mir won the girls’ singles title, while the mixed doubles pair of Ayan Rashid and Tasnim and the girls’ doubles duo of Tanisha Crasto and Aditi Bhatt also clinched gold medals.

In addition, the junior brigade added three silver medals to their tally.

Gujarat’s Tasnim put up a superb display in the final to upset second seed Treesa Jolly 21-15, 21-19 to grab the girls’ singles title.

Tasnim tasted double glory when she teamed up with Assam’s Rashid in the mixed doubles.

The Indian combine did not have it easy against Indonesia’s Galuh Dwi Putra and UAE’s Zainaba Siraj and had to dig deep to secure the victory.

In a close contest, the pair got the better of their opponents 21-16 22-24 21-19.

In girls’ doubles, top seeds Aditi and Tanisha continued their impeccable run as they crushed second seeds Treesa Jolly and Varshini Sri 21-17 21-17 to win the title in an all-India summit clash.

The only disappointment for India was in boys’ singles, where top seed Varun Kapur had to settle for a silver after losing to second seed Prince Dahal of Nepal 19-21 19-21.

(With PTI inputs)