KAMPALA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's Le Duc Phat won the men's singles title at the 2024 Uganda International Badminton Challenge that ended on Sunday.
Le, who was ranked 86th by badminton's world governing body, started poorly in the final against India's Raghu Mariswamy, falling 11-2 behind, but battled his way strongly to win in two straight sets.
Le ultimately beat Mariswamy 21-18, 21-14 in the final at the Lugogo Indoor Stadium in Kampala. To reach the final, he dispatched Africa's top seed Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori of Nigeria in the semifinal, while Mariswamy ejected Kazakhstan's Dmitriy Panarin.
"I am very happy to win the title today because it helps me collect more ranking points and improve my chances of qualifying for the Olympic Games in France," Le told Xinhua after the match.
The women's singles final was an all-Indian affair, with Aakarshi Kashyap besting Shruti Mundada 25-23, 21-18.
The Indian pair of Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath lifted the mixed doubles title after seeing off Australia's Kenneth Zhe Hooi Choo and Gronya Somerville 22-20, 18.21, 21-19.
India's Madathil Ramachandran Arjun and Dhruv Kapila also defeated the United States' Vinson Chiu and Joshua Yuan 21-14, 21-13 in the men's doubles final. In an all-U.S. affair, Francesca Corbeet and Allison Lee recovered from losing the first set 19-21 to Paula Lynn Hok and Lauren Lam, but won the next two 21-18, 21-15.
Local players from Uganda failed to proceed past the first round of the tournament, which featured over 50 overseas players. "We are very happy that the turn-up was impressive and gave our players a platform to gain exposure," said Simon Mugabi, Chief Executive of the Uganda Badminton Association (UBA).
The tournament, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), ran from February 21 to 25. ■
