38th National Games: Anmol Kharb wins women’s singles gold, Satish Kumar Karunakaran secures double victory

Kharb defeated top seed Anupama Upadhyaya in straight games in the women's singles final to claim the gold medal

Dehradun: Rising shuttler Anmol Kharb of Haryana continued her impressive run to win gold in women’s singles while Tamil Nadu’s Satish Kumar Karunakaran claimed the men’s singles as well as doubles title at the 38th National Games here on Tuesday.

Kharb defeated top seed Anupama Upadhyaya in straight games in the women’s singles final to claim the gold medal. The 18-year-old, a member of the gold medal-winning Indian team at the Asia Team Championships, showcased her skill and determination by outclassing world number 43 Anupama 21-16, 22-20 to secure the top prize.

---

The gold medal marked another milestone in Anmol’s rising career, following her runner-up finish at the Guwahati Masters Super 100 tournament last December and her victories at the Belgian and Polish Internationals last year.

In the men’s singles final, top seed Karunakaran beat Suryaksh Rawat of Uttarakhand 21-17 21-17 in a dominating performance to win gold on the final day of badminton competitions. Karunakaran had earlier in the day teamed up with Aadya Variyath to eke out a hard-fought 21-11, 20-22, 21-8 win over Deep Rambhiya and Akshaya Warang of Maharashtra in the mixed doubles gold medal match.

In the men’s doubles, Nithin HV and Prakash Raj S defeated Vaibhav and Ashith Surya 21-16, 21-14 in a one-sided all-Karnataka final to take home the coveted gold. Karnataka pair of Shikha Gautam and Ashwini Bhat won gold in the women’s doubles after beating Angel Punera and Anya Bisht of Uttarakhand 21-11 21-13 in the final.

Star shuttler and home state favourite Lakshya Sen, ranked world number 10, withdrew from the competition at the last moment on Monday.