Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto Win Guwahati Masters Super 100 Title

Indian women's doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa on Sunday secured their second Super 100 title with a straight-game win over Chinese Taipei's Sung Shuo Yun and Yu Chien Hui at the Guwahati Masters here. The second-seeded Indian combination, which finished runners-up at the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament last week in Lucknow, beat the world no. 81 combination 21-13, 21-19 in a 40-minute final. This was the third title for the Indian pair, which had clinched the Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100 and Nantes International Challenge this year.

The Indian duo didn't face much resistance in the opening game as it led 6-2 and kept moving ahead, taking an 11-7 advantage at the interval. After resumption, Ashwini and Tanisha kept dominating the rallies to leave their opponents far behind.

The world no. 28 Indian pair again had a 4-1 lead which swelled to 12-6 in a jiffy but the Taiwanese combination led a fight-back with five straight points to make it 11-12.

Shuo and Chien drew parity at 16-16 and 19-19 but the Indians quelled the challenge, sealing the issue with the required two points.

Ashwini, 34, and 20-year-old Tanisha started playing together only in January this year and were part of India's Asian Games squad which competed in Hangzhou, China in September-October.

"I am happy with how we played. Very grateful to reach the final and win. We looked after our body and executed our plans. Focus and determination last two weeks have been great," said Ashwini after the match.

"Both of us are explosive (players) and she is good at the nets and I am known for my smashes from the back court. So, I think, we are complementing each other. We rotate well." Ashwini added that errors crept in after the change