Telangana India International Challenge: India enjoyed a successful outing at the Telangana India International Challenge 2026, finishing with three titles after Tushar Suveer, Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj and the men’s doubles combination of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy emerged victorious here on Sunday.
The home contingent swept both singles crowns, with Tushar and Rakshitha producing fighting performances in their respective finals at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy.
Sixth seed Tushar had to dig deep to overcome fellow Indian Bharat Raghav in the men’s singles summit clash. After dropping the opening game 15-21, he fought back to take the next two 21-18, 21-19, sealing the title in 58 minutes.
His campaign gained momentum with a straight-game victory over Ansh Negi in the pre-quarterfinals, before he knocked out top seed Kiran George 21-12, 21-17 in the quarter-finals. Tushar then booked his place in the final by defeating Hmar Lalthzuala 21-14, 21-19 in the last four.
The triumph marked a step forward for Tushar, who had reached the semi-finals of the India International Challenge in Bengaluru the previous week.
Rakshitha produced a similarly determined display in the women’s singles final, recovering from an early setback to defeat ninth seed Rujula Ramu 16-21, 21-15, 21-14 in 53 minutes. The top seed’s victory added another international title to her collection following her triumph at the Vietnam International Challenge earlier this year.
Rakshitha had negotiated a challenging route to the final, beginning with a straight-game win over Mariia Golubeva. She subsequently overcame Tanvi Reddy in three games before defeating Adarshini Shri Boopathy Balaji 21-17, 21-11 in the quarter-finals. A three-game victory over Adita Rao in the semi-finals completed her journey to the title match.
India’s third trophy came in men’s doubles, where top seeds Krishna Prasad Garaga and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy defeated fifth-seeded compatriots Sai Pratheek K and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi 21-12, 21-18 in just 34 minutes.
The Indian pair maintained their momentum throughout the competition, progressing past Weeraphat Phakjarung and Tanupat Viriyangkura in the opening round before surviving a three-game contest against Pavan Suresh and Punith Suresh. They followed that with victories over Ashith Surya and Ganesh Vittalji in the quarter-finals and Malaysia’s Lau Yi Sheng and Lee Yi Bo in the semi-finals.
India narrowly missed adding a fourth title as Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Ashwini Ponnappa settled for silver in mixed doubles. The Indian combination took the opening game against Rodion Alimov and Alina Davletova but the second seeds from the tournament fought back to win 19-21, 21-11, 21-13 in 50 minutes.
The runner-up finish marked Ponnappa’s first final appearance of the 2026 BWF season. The three-time Olympian had previously competed with Aaryan Sapiah at the Denmark Challenge and Valence Alpes International, followed by partnerships with Sathish at the Indonesia Masters in Pontianak and Turkiye International Challenge. The Indian pair reached the quarter-finals in Turkiye and Bengaluru.
India narrowly missed adding a fourth title as Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Ashwini Ponnappa settled for silver in mixed doubles. The Indian combination took the opening game against Rodion Alimov and Alina Davletova but the second seeds from the tournament fought back to win 19-21, 21-11, 21-13 in 50 minutes.
Article Source: IANS
