KUALA LUMPUR (1 MARCH 2022): It was a delight for Malaysian badminton fans as siblings R. Kasturi and R. Venosha emerged as champions at the 18th Uganda International Challenge. The 2022 tournament which was held at the MTN Arena Indoor, Kampala from the 24th -27th February witnessed the third seeded pair R. Kasturi and R. Venosha reigned supreme in the women’s doubles category.
The dynamic pair ensured their qualification to the grand finals in style by overcoming Italy’s top seeded shuttlers Katharina Fink-Yasmine Hamza 21-15, 21-17 in a nail-biting semi-finals fixture which lasted for 29 minutes thus giving a morale injection for Kasturi and Venosha to perform better in the grand finals.
Kasturi, 21, and her sister Venosha, 20, who were the runner-up in the women’s doubles category at the 2021 Bangladesh International Challenge then made the reckoning against Italy’s second seeded shuttlers Martina Corsini-Judith Mair 21-18, 21-19 to successfully clinch the championship.
The pair, who trains under the New Vision Badminton Academy, were delighted to emulate their women’s doubles championship (2019 Mauritius International Fleet tournament) winning success hence felt ecstatic to begin their 2022 campaign with a championship victory.
“It’s a good start for us this year. We hope, this is not the only success for us, but we will always strive to excel and emerge victorious in the upcoming tournaments,” the pair said.
Meanwhile, Venosha’s hard hitting performance also earned her a runner up medal in the mixed doubles category as she and her Indian mixed doubles partner, Senthil Vel were humbly defeated by Algeria’s M. Koceila, M. Tanina 19-21, 21-18, 22-20 in a thrilling 45-minute match. Stalwart Kasturi also took home the bronze medal in the women’s singles category as she lost to Canada’s Talia Ng 21-12, 21-18 in the semi-finals.
On the other hand, the scratch combination of the men’s doubles pair Boon Xin Yuan-Wong Tien Ci continued Malaysia’s winning momentum in the Uganda International Challenge championship as they toppled Germany’s Jones Ralfy Jansen-Jan Colin 21-15, 21-14 in the finals to emerge as champions.
The four-day event organized by Uganda Badminton Association (UBA) has attracted participants from 39 countries across various continents.
