The finals day of the tournament turned out to be a mixed bag for Europe.
With the mixed doubles format not being a part of the International event, European athletes competed in the finals in two out of four categories.
Malkova/Shapovalova in great form
The Russian women’s doubles pair of Ekaterina Malkova/ Anastasiia Shapovalova got two steps better of their semifinals appearance at the Super 500 India Open last month. Forced to withdraw last time, they breezed past the home favourites Yeganeh Seyedtafrishikhameneh/ Nazanin Zamani 21-14, 21-12 in the semifinals. The duo went on to claim the title as they brushed off another Iranian pair Hajar Kabiri/ Saghar Rafei today. They won 21-3, 21-13 in just 17 minutes.
Bosniuk falls short
Having won the Mexican International last year without dropping a game, the Ukrainian athlete Danylo Bosniuk was close to repeating the triumph in Iran. The 21-year-old looked strong in his quarterfinal match against the Centre of Excellence (CoE) player Milan Dratva. He followed it up with a win over familiar rival Bernardo Atilano to set up the final clash against Meiraba Luwang Maisnam. The Indian had beaten his compatriot Kartikey Gulshan Kumar 21-17, 21-14 in the other men’s singles semifinal.
Today, the youngster started well by clinching the opener. However, his opponent controlled the proceedings thereafter, winning 18-21, 21-13, 21-19 after squandering five match points.
Heartbreak for Repiska
The CoE player Martina Repiska was the top seed in women’s singles. However, she fell short in face of the Indian prodigy Tasnim Mir. At just 16, Mir is ranked No. 1 in the World Junior Rankings. She had eased past her opponent 21-15, 21-6 and went on to lift the trophy. She got better of the second seed Yulia Yosephine Susanto in three games: 21-11, 11-21, 21-7.
Elsewhere, another CoE player Anna Mikhalkova was unable to make the quarterfinals, despite being seeded fourth in the draw.
Jabbari settles for silver
The home favourite Amir Jabbari won the men’s doubles title with Soroush Eskandari in the previous edition. Pairing with Mehran Shahbazi this time, he reached an unprecedented second consecutive final. However, it was too tough a task for the home pair as they clashed with Abiyyu Fauzan Majid/ Fardian Mahardika Ranialdy today.
The Indonesians got better of the talented Russian pair Georgii Lebedev/ Artur Pechenken 19-21, 21-16, 21-11 yesterday and won the title today. They reigned supreme 21-15, 21-12 in a dominant display.