National Badminton: Youth triumph over experience
Kathmandu, Sep 13 - Ratna Jeet Tamang defied all odds to take the National Open Badminton title on Saturday. Tamang's sibling Sara Devi Tamang clinched the women's title.
Young Ratna Jeet ended former no. 1 player Kailali Ramshing Chaudhary's hopes of winning the title with a 21-16, 21-18 win. "I was under no pressure. I had never imagined I would end up lifting the cup," he said after winning the final. "This is the advantage youngsters enjoy while competing against seniors. I need to keep up the good work now."
For his effort, Tamang pocketed Rs. 50,000 in cash. Chaudhary on the other hand said giving away easy points cost him the match. "I didn't play my natural game," Chaudhary said. Despite the loss Chaudhary is confident he will climb up to the no. 1 spot soon.
Tamang took the lead right from the start, jumping on to a 13-4 lead in the opening set. His second set performance was no less impressive.
In a highly competitive set, Chaudhary failed to take advantage of his 15-11 lead as two of his services went in vain. Tamang had defeated Pankaj Chand of Armed Police Force (APF) in the semi-final while Chuadhary had won against Sajan Krishna Tamrakar.
In the women's singles, Sara Devi of Nepal Army ended the challenge of APF's Puja Shrestha 21-12, 21-8. As the title winner, she bagged a purse of Rs. 40,000.
In men's doubles, the APF duo of Pankaj Chand and Rajiv Dahal beat Bharat Shrestha and Surya Thapa of Nepal Police Club 19-12, 21-9, 21-9, 21-16. A total of 441 players had participated in the five-day tournament.
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