Lakshya Sen and Ashmita Chaliha win the Men’s Singles and Women’s singles title at the 11 th edition of Tata Open India International Challenge 2018

Lakshya Sen from India won the Men’s Singles title defeating Kunlavut Vitidsarn from Thailand who had beaten him earlier in the semi-finals of Asia Junior Championship.

The Women’s Singles title was bagged by Ashmita Chaliha from India who defeated Vrushali Gummadi from India . Ashmita Chaliha who has mesmerised everyone with her game in the tournament and moved to the finals after defeating seeded players, won her maiden Tata Open title in her first year. Each of the singles winners took home the prize money of USD 1,875 .

Winner of Women’s Singles title, Ashmita Chaliha said, “I am very happy to win the Tata Open in my first year itself. Winning against Vrushali Gummadi makes the victory even sweeter as I have never won against her before. After winning two consecutive international titles, my focus would be to play better in future tournaments.”

Winner of Men’s Singles title, Lakshya Sen said , “I am overwhelmed with the win today as it is against Kunlavut after losing the semi-finals to him in Asia Junior Championship. Also, I was eager to win the title this year as I had lost in the finals last year. I kept focus on my techniques and this has earned me the title.”

Speaking on the occasion, the tournament referee, Ashley George from Bahrain , said, “This has been a wonderful tournament and I congratulate the winners. I am happy that Badminton Asia appointed me for this tournament. The arrangements were world-class.”

Felicitating the winners, the Chief Guest for the evening, Harish Bhat, Brand Custodian, Tata Sons, said, “Firstly, I would like to congratulate all the participants for a marvellous tournament this year. Running for over a decade now, Tata Open India International Challenge has been one of the pioneering international badminton tournaments from India that has encouraged youngsters to pursue the game as professionals. We are encouraged by the results, including the increase in the number of participants this year. With general interest around the game of badminton rising significantly higher, we see many more tournaments coming up and a distinct ecosystem building around this game. This is indeed heartening. We are proud and happy that Tata Open has been the stepping stone for many renowned badminton players of India and other south-east Asian countries. And I wish we have more world-class badminton champions emerging from India, in the years ahead.”

The 11 th edition of Tata Open was held between November 28 and December 2, 2018 at The Cricket Club of India (CCI), Mumbai. Launched in 2007, the annual tournament is one of the most awaited events in all Asian countries. This year, a total of 248 players from 13 countries participated in the championship.

Following are the results of Tata Open 2018 finale:
Men’s Singles: Lakshya SEN (2), IND, def. Kunlavut VITIDSARN, THA, 21-15 21-10

Women’s Singles: Ashmita Chaliha, IND, def. Vrushali GUMMADI (8), IND, 21-16 21-13
Men’s Doubles: Arjun M.R. and Reddy B. Sumeeth, IND, def. GOH Sze Fei and Nur IZZUDDIN (1), MAS, 21-10 21-16
Women’s Doubles: NG Wing Yung and Yeung Nga Ting (2), HKG, def. Jakkampudi Meghana and Poorvisha S RAM (1), IND, 21-10 21-11
Mix Doubles: Nipitphon Phuangphuapet and Savitree Amitrapai (2), THA, def. Chang Tak Ching and NG Wing Yung (1), HKG, 21-13 21-16