Swati solanki

Senior Nationals Badminton Championships: Rithvik Sanjeevi S. fought back from a game down to pack off defending champion and sixth seed Chirag Sen in the third round of the 86th Senior Nationals Badminton tournament here on Saturday. The Tamil Nadu shuttler looked in trouble after losing the opening game against Sen but bounced back to win 12-21, 21-19, 21-15 and will now take on Raghu M on Sunday for a place in the quarterfinals.

There were no such surprises in the women’s singles section as defending champion Anmol Kharb and last edition runners-up Tanvi Sharma stormed into the Round of 16. Anmol defeated Krishika Mahajan 21-14, 21-14 while Tanvi packed off Swati Solanki 21-12, 21-8 in the third round.

While most of the title contenders stayed on course in the women’s singles category, the men’s singles event saw fourth seed Bhargav S, fifth seed Saneeth DS, and ninth seed Ravi biting the dust. M. Singh upset Bhargav 21-11, 21-13 while Manish Phogat got the better of Ravi 14-21, 21-14, 21-18. In the last match of the day, Rounak Chauhan ended Saneeth’s campaign with a 21-11, 21-16 victory.