Odisha Masters 2024: Rithvik lifts men's singles title, Tanvi suffers heartbreak in final

India shuttler Rithvik Sanjeevi Satish Kumar defeated his compatriot Tharun Mannepalli in the final to secure the Odisha Masters 2024 badminton men's singles title in Cuttack. Ranked 78 in the world, Rithvik, 21, breezed past Tharun Mannepalli, 68th in the badminton rankings, with a 21-18, 21-16 victory on Sunday. Rithvik reigned supreme in a game that lasted for 43 minutes to claim his BWF Tour Super 100 crown.

Before entering the final, Tharun Mannepalli pulled off some remarkable results. He ousted the defending men's singles champion Sathish Karunakaran, seeded sixth, in the semi-finals. Sathish Karunakaran secured the Guwahati Masters title last week. Meanwhile, Third seed Kiran George failed to go past the second round.

In a span of two weeks, India faced yet another heartbreak in the women's singles category. Cai Yan Yan of the People's Republic of China defeated 15-year-old Tanvi Sharma in the final to take away the honours. The Chinese shuttler made her dominance felt by securing a 21-14, 21-16 victory in just 35 minutes to walk away with the title.

This is the second straight tournament where Cai Yan Yan defeated an Indian shuttler in the final to clinch the title. Last week the Chinese shuttler stood victorious against Anmol Kharb to claim the Guwahati Masters. Apart from the women's singles title, China also managed to seal the men's and mixed doubles crowns in Odisha.

Meanwhile, Anmol Kharb tasted defeat in the quarter-finals at the hands of Tanvi Sharma in straight games. Anupama Upadhyaya, the top Indian seed at number two, was also knocked by Tanvi in the opening round. Swetaparna and Rutaparna were the top-seeded pair in women's doubles but their campaign concluded in the second round. The top seeds in men's doubles, Sathish Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath's run ended in the quarter-finals.

Odisha Masters 2024 badminton winners:

Men's singles: Rithvik Sanjeevi Satish Kumar (IND)

Men's doubles: Huang Di / Liu Yang (CHN)

Women's singles: Cai Yan Yan (CHN)

Women's doubles: Nanoka Hara / Riko Kiyose (JPN)

Mixed doubles: Gao Jia Xuan / Tang Rui Zhi (CHN). (ANI)