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Sindhu, Srikanth crowned National badminton champions

December 23, 2013 20:18 IST

P V SindhuYoung shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth scored contrasting victories to win the women's and men's singles titles respectively at the 78th Senior National Badminton Championships in Delhi on Monday.

World Championships bronze medallist Sindhu won her second national crown after a straight games victory over Rituparna Das in the women's singles final, which lasted 30 minutes.

However, it was a maiden title for Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold winner Srikanth, who had to dig deep into his reserves to get the better off RMV Gurusaidutt in the men's final.

While second seed Sindhu, currently ranked 11th in the world, defeated Rituparna 21-11 21-17, Srikanth beat Guru 21-13, 22-20 at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

Defending mixed doubles champions Aparna Balan and Arun Vishnu retained their title, while Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa regained the women's doubles crown for the first time since 2009.

In the men's doubles, top seeds Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar scored a 21-19, 21-17 win over second seeds Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy B in 39 minutes to emerge triumphant.

Second seeds Arun and Aparna defeated top seeds Tarun Kona and Ashwini Ponnappa 21-10, 21-17 in 30 minutes while the second seeded pair of Jwala and Ashwini prevailed over top seeds Pradnya Gadre and Siki Reddy 21-17, 21-16.

Image: P V Sindhu