Raghu wins a dramatic final to clinch his maiden title; Devika romps to her first

Sweet victory: Haryana’s Devika Sihag and Karnataka’s M. Raghu clinched their crowns in contrasting styles. | Photo: K. MURALI KUMAR

In a thriller, Karnataka’s M. Raghu saved three championship points to defeat Railways’ Mithun Manjunath 14-21, 21-14, 24-22 for his maiden Senior National Championship men’s singles title, at the Karnataka Badminton Association (KBA) courts here on Tuesday.

Raghu, in fact, was not ranked high enough to gain a direct entry into the draw and got in because the KBA, convinced of his abilities, decided to give him one of two extra spots reserved for the hosts. And he proved what a wise choice it was by nicking the humdinger and adding the individual gold to the historic team title he won with Karnataka last week.

The women’s singles final, in contrast, had none of the drama as Haryana’s Devika Sihag, 19, secured her first National crown with a straightforward 21-15, 21-16 triumph over Telangana’s Shriyanshi Valishetty.

The men’s summit clash was the day’s last fixture, and Mithun and Raghu, both 26, ensured that the boisterous crowd went home satisfied. The two players have known each other since they were 10, having started playing together in Mandya.

That familiarity meant much of the badminton was cat and mouse. There were prolonged, cheeky exchanges at the net, deft drop shots, and powerful smashes from both players that left the shuttle absolutely feathered.

In the first game, Mithun was clearly the better player, going up 6-1 and then 10-6 before winning it to 14 points. The tide turned in the second and Mithun was forced to play catch-up. But he nearly bridged the gap, making it 11-12, only to see Raghu surge ahead 18-14 and hit three consecutive winners to level matters.

In the decider, Mithun first led 12-9, then 16-13 and 19-15 but Raghu clawed his way back every single time. However, at 19-all, a below-par serve from Raghu gave Mithun the first of three chances to put the result to bed. But the 2022 National champion fluffed it with an error into the net.

Another mistake and a terrific cross-court smash from Raghu erased the second and third opportunities. At 22-all, Mithun sent a sharp-angled dribble wide, and Raghu bagged the title on his first championship point as his opponent’s shuttle sailed long.

“Even at 16-19, I was thinking of it as a four-point match,” Raghu said when asked about his approach towards the end. “That puts less pressure. I was just thinking of getting the next point, forgetting that it was the Nationals”. 

The results (finals): Singles: Men: M. Raghu (Kar) bt Mithun Manjunath (Rly) 14-21, 21-14, 24-22; Women: Devika Sihag (Har) bt Shriyanshi Valishetty (Tel) 21-15, 21-16.

Doubles: Men: Arsh Mohammad (UP) & Sanskar Saraswat (Raj) bt P. Naveen & V. Lokesh (TN) 21-12, 12-21, 21-19; Women: Arathi Sara Sunil (Ker) & V.S. Varshini (TN) bt Priya Devi Konjengbam (Mnp) & Shruti Mishra (UP) 21-18, 20-22, 21-17.

Mixed doubles: Ayush Agarwal & Shruti Mishra (UP) bt Rohan Kapoor (Del) & G. Ruthvika Shivani (Pet) 21-17, 21-18.