Guwahati: Rajasthan’s Sanskar Saraswat clinched his maiden Super 100 title after eking out a three-game victory over fellow Indian Mithun Manjunath in the men’s singles final of the Guwahati Masters here on Sunday.
The 19-year-old from Jodhpur showcased grit and firepower while unleashing a barrage of smashes to outwit former national champion Manjunath 21-11, 17-21, 21-13 in an all-Indian final that lasted 50 minutes.
Saraswat, who trains at the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati, has been making rapid strides on the domestic circuit. He won his maiden senior national doubles title alongside Arsh Mohammad in Bengaluru last year and had earlier claimed a junior singles crown.
The duo also finished runners-up in the under-19 event at the 31st Smit Krishna Khaitan Memorial Badminton Tournament in September last year.
Playing with his right leg heavily taped, Saraswat stayed marginally ahead at the outset before Manjunath clawed back to 7-7 in the opening game. While the rallies lacked prolonged exchanges, both players capitalised on each other’s errors.
Saraswat carried a slim 11-9 lead into the interval before stretching it to 14-10 with a burst of attacking shots. Manjunath struggled to read his opponent’s cross-court and down-the-line smashes as Saraswat surged to nine game points and closed out the opener comfortably.
The second game saw Saraswat continue on the offensive, racing to an 8-2 lead with his steep smashes leaving Manjunath under pressure. However, the Karnataka shuttler staged a strong comeback, reeling off five consecutive points to level at 7-8 and edging ahead 11-10 at the interval.
Momentum then swung decisively as Manjunath overturned a deficit to grab an 18-16 advantage before Saraswat’s errors handed him three game points, which he converted to force a decider.
In the third game, Saraswat came out firing, storming to a 7-0 lead with aggressive intent. Manjunath managed to close the gap briefly, but Saraswat maintained control to take an 11-5 lead at the interval.
After the restart, his ability to get under the shuttle and unleash full-blooded smashes proved decisive as he stretched the lead to 14-6 and earned eight match points.
Saraswat sealed the contest on his second opportunity with a deep return.
Saraswat was introduced to the sport by his father Raj, a former national-level singles and doubles player.
After beginning his training at the Drona Sports Academy, Saraswat went on to win the under-13 national doubles title with Tushar Suveer and later partnered Bhuvan Singh to claim the under-15 national doubles crown in Bhubaneswar in 2019.
