India clinch two gold in badminton at South Asian Games

Indian men’s and women’s team clinched gold medals in their respective team events at the 13th South Asian Games in Pokhara, Nepal, on Monday. Men’s team beat Sri Lanka 3-1 while the women’s team also registered a thrashing 3-0 win against Sri Lanka. In the men’s team event, ace India shuttler Srikanth Kidambi started the match with men’s singles game against Dinuka Karunaratne, after dropping the first game Srikanth made comeback to win the next two consecutive games and the match 17-21, 21-15, 21-11 in 55 minutes.

Congratulating the team on their gold medal win, BAI President, Himanta Biswa Sarma said,

"Team gold medals are always special and I am confident that the Indian contingent will surpass the previous edition's performance."

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Krishna Garanga and Dhruv Kapila gave India a winning lead

Siril Varma was declared a winner in the next singles game as his opponent Sachin Premashan retired mid-match (21-17,11-5) India went on to take 2-0 lead. India conceded a point when doubles pair Arjun George and Sanyam Shukla lost a close game 18-21, 21-14, 11-21 to Sachin Premashan A Vidange and B Tharindu Goonathilake.

However, in the next doubles match, when they registered a convincing 21-14, 21-18 win over Dinuka Karunaratne and Hasitha Chanaka and ensured a 3-1 win for India. 

"Double gold win will give the team the right impetus as the individual games start and I wish the Indian Contingent all the best for their upcoming matches, said BAI General Secretary, Ajay K Singhania.

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