Panchkula shuttler wins Polish Open

Deepankar Sharda

Panchkula, March 28

Seventeen-year-old Panchkula shuttler Anupama Upadhyaya, who is ranked 75th in the world, has won the Polish Open 2022. She had jumped 43 spots to grab the 84th rank in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings of the women’s singles category in January.

In the final, which lasted nearly 56 minutes, Anupama overcame a tough challenge by Aditi Bhatt. She lost the first game 17-21, but only to register a 21-14, 21-17 comeback win for the title. In the semifinal, she had defeated Tasnim Mir 11-21, 21-14, 21-11. “It was a tough outing for me, especially after the Covid outbreak. Though, she (Aditi) practises with me on a regular basis, it was for the second time we were facing each other in a professional tournament,” said Anupama. “Registering a win over foreign players was also exciting. I had defeated Italy’s Judith Mair 21-11, 21-5, Vivien Sandorhazi 21-16, 21-7 and Daniella Gonda 21-13, 21-12 in straight games.” Anupama, who is in France for playing the Orleans Masters 2022 (Super Series), is confident to get a good jump in rankings after winning this championship. Anupama trains at Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, Bengaluru, under coach Vimal.