Jaipur: Proving his versatility yet again, Sanskar Saraswat bagged twin bronze medals in the Yonex-Sunrise Dr Akhilesh Das Gupta Memorial All India Senior Ranking Badminton tournament 2024 which concluded at the BBD UP Badminton Academy in Lucknow on Saturday.
Eighteen-year-old Sanskar won bronze in the men’s singles and men’s doubles, partnering Arsh Mohammad of Uttar Pradesh.With this extraordinary performance, Sanskar became the first Rajasthan shuttler to win two bronze medals in a single All India Ranking tournament in the history of state badminton.
Thanks to this unique feat, Jodhpur boy Sanskar also became the only player in the entire tournament to reach semi-finals of the men’s singles as well as men’s doubles in Lucknow.
The fact that Sanskar reached the semis in both the events after entering the main draw through tough qualification rounds. The talented teenager played a whopping 17 matches in the tourney and won 15 out of them, marking perhaps the best national-level tournament for him.
After clearing four rounds in the qualification to make the cut for the main draw, Sanskar upset ninth seed Aryamann Tandon of Gujarat 21-13, 21-18 in the first round.
Qualifier Sanskar caused a couple of more upsets including knocking out former Indian player Daniel Farid S and third seed Kaushal Dharmamer. While Sanskar needed three games to prevail over Karnataka’s Daniel 12-21, 21-12, 21-16, he brushed aside Dharmamer of Maharashtra in straight games 21-13, 21-18 to reach the quarters.
In a battle between two qualifiers, Sanskar rallied back to outlast TT Gnana Dattu of Telangana 18-21, 21-18, 21-17 in an exciting quarter-final.
However, Sanskar’s dream run was stopped by second seed Bharat Raghav in the semis. Haryana’s Bharat overcame the stiff challenge from Sanskar to clinch a 21-19, 21-12 win. The Indian team member later went on to win the title defeating BM Rahul Bharadhvaj of Air India 25-23, 21-10 in the final.
In the doubles too, Sanskar and Arsh caused a few upsets to reach the semis. Qualifiers Sanskar and Arsh squandered away winning position and went down fighting against
third seeds S Prakash Raj and Gouse Shaik. After winning the first game, Sanskar-Arsh was poised to close the match in straight games but some unforced errors towards the end of the second game helped higher-ranked Prakash-Gouse duo to win the semis 12-21, 21-19, 21-13.
“I was happy with my overall performance in the tournament. Reaching semis in both the events was not easy as the competition was quite tough. I could have reached the finals, but my body was completely tired after playing 17 matches in a week. I was exhausted and due to cramps, I couldn’t give my best in the semis,” Sanskar told TOI on Saturday.
The six-feet tall Sanskar will be leaving for Guwahati on Sunday to resume his training at the BAI National Centre of Excellence.
