Devika of Panchkula wins national badminton title
Panchkula shuttler Devika Sihag, a student of Chitkara University, has created history by winning the women’s singles gold in the Yonex-Sunrise 86th Senior National Badminton Championships held in Bengaluru.
Devika ended the run of Shriyanshi Valishetty to win the women’s singles crown in straight games 21-15 21-16. She took control of the match tempo quickly and then maintained her dominance to win in straight games.
In March, the 18-year-old won the singles title ofthe 59th Portugal International Badminton Championship. She overpowered Rachel Chan of Canada in straight games 21-16 21-16. In the qualifying round, she overpowered England’s Freya Redfearn 21-10 21-18, followed by a 21-16 21-16 win over Turkey’s Ozge Bayrak and 21-11 21-10 win over Hungarian challenger Agnes Korosi.
She also won the women’s singles title in the FZ Forza Dutch International Tournament in the Netherlands the same month. In July, she claimed silver in the girls U-19 category of the Yonex-Sunrise All-India Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament played in Goa. She put up a tough fight against Haryana’s Unnati Hooda but lost the final 23-21 14-21 21-19.
The Haryana Badminton Association has announced a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh for Devika on winning the national title. It’s for the third consecutive time that Haryana won the national title in the women’s category. Anupama Upadhyaya and Anmol Kharb from the state have also won the titles.
